Of Fiends and Fire
by Fireflare14
Summary: Nerissa has finally been defeated and the Guardians are taking some tome off. But evil still lurks in the air. Nerissa's soul has returned to reclaim her powers, and she's after Taranee to do it for her. Can the Guardian of Fire stand up to the evilwitch?
1. Chapter 1

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 1

"Come on Taranee! You're slowing us down!" The dark skinned girl looked away from the ocean view she had stopped to admire to peer down the the trail. A well curved girl with curly brown hair was waving at her from down the path. She was surrounded by teens carrying baskets and towels down to the shoreline.

"I'm coming, Irma!" Taranee shouted back.

"Well hurry up!" shouted another girl, Cornelia, with a flowing mane of blonde hair. "The sooner we start our vacation and forget about this Narissa nonsense, the better we'll all feel." Taranee felt her stomach lurch at Cornelia's comment. Harsh memories sliced their way into her mind, but she brushed them away with gentle fingers.

Taranee and her friends were unlike most teenage girls. They had all been gifted with magical powers and made the official Guardians of the Veil, an invisible gate between Earth and Meridian. Taranee herself, the shy quiet one of the group, had ironically been given the power over reckless fire. The others (Irma, Cornelia, and Hay Lin) had been given control of the other elements: earth, water, and air. Together, they'd spent the last few months fighting an evil Guardian named Narissa, who'd been trying to steal the Heart of Candracar from Will, Keeper of the Heart and the team's leader. They'd finally managed to subdue Narissa and strip her of all of her powers. Now, the Guardians were enjoying some well earned relaxation time!

Taranee raced down the trail towards her friends, her beaded braid clinking against her neck. When she got to the end of the trail, her beach ready crew had already begun setting up umbrellas and towels on the pale white sand. It was the first day of summer vacation, and the Guardians were celebrating by throwing a private beach party. All of Taranee's girlfriends were there, along with their present crushes. Even Elyon had taken a break from being Queen of Meridian to enjoy the ocean.

"Finally!" tiny, black haired Hay Lin exclaimed as Taranee walked up. "We thought you were going to lag behind forever!" Taranee smiled sheepishly as she set down her things. She felt a pair of strong arms curl around her waist and pull her in closer to them. Taranee turned her head and stared into the cool eyes of her boyfriend, Nigel, as he laid his head on hers.

"Well, she's here now," he murmured into her hair. "And now we can start this party." Nigel kissed her lightly on the cheek, and Taranee felt the butterflies float in her stomach. Nigel made her feel bold and confident, in contrast to her normally bookish attitude.

"It's about time we got this vacation started," Cornelia said, lying down on her towel so her toes barley brushed the water. "I'm in desperate need of a tan."

"Better be careful, Corny," Irma joked, "Too much sun could fry your brain beyond repair. Not that it would be much different than how it is now." Taranee couldn't help but snicker at the water Guardian's taunts. Irma knew exactly how to get under Cornelia's skin.

"Ha-ha! Very funny. And I told you to stop calling me Corny!" Cornelia was rolled onto her stomach to stare directly at Irma, who'd hidden her hands behind her back. The only person who noticed her barely perceptible finger movements was Taranee, who watched thinking that this couldn't end well. And it didn't. Before she could blink, Cornelia was covered head to toe in sea water. She jumped up squealing, sending everyone onto fits of hysteria, including her boyfriend Caleb. Will, who was normally prone to hating these squabbles, did nothing but laugh and fall back into her boyfriend Matt's arms. Cornelia didn't seem to enjoy the group's snickers. In an instant she launched herself at Irma, and soon they were wrestling on the ground in the low tide. Taranee could hear their laughter, so it was clear that neither girl was serious. One by one, others drifted in to assist in the fight, throwing handfuls of ocean at each other. Taranee was about to join them when she felt a slight tug at the back of her mind. Taranee stopped running, trying to probe for the source of the invasion. With her power over fire came a form of telepathy that allowed her to read and communicate with other people's minds. At that moment, Taranee was getting a faint signal that was distant yet familiar. Someone she knew was trying to speak to her, but the limited range prevented her from getting the full message.

Hay Lin, being the closest to Taranee at the time, was the only one who noticed the fire Guardian's pause. Becoming worried, she placed a wet hand on her friend's shoulder.

"You okay, Taranee?" Hay Lin asked gently. The glazed over look in her friend's eyes had scared her silly. Taranee rubbed her forehead before looking up into Hay Lin's dark eyes.

"Yeah," she replied. "It just feels like someone is trying to connect with me and tell me something but I don't-" All of the sudden, Taranee stopped short. Her body felt unnaturally cold and her skin paled. She paid no attention to Hay Lin as she doubled over, grasping her head in pain. Hay Lin's fear doubled in magnitude as she tried to rouse her friend from that icy reverie. Then whatever held Taranee got Hay Lin, too, knocking the air out of her desperate lungs. She dropped to the ground, one hand clutching her throat.

Will was busy throwing ocean water in Matt's face when she heard Nigel scream Taranee's name. Her attention instantly snapped to the shoreline, where she watched first Hay Lin drop, then Taranee. Her joy switched to panic as she waded her way through water to get to where the girls lay unconscious. When she arrived, Will took the moaning Taranee in her arms. To her surprise, the firs Guardian's usually scalding skin was cold as ice. To her left, Eric was cradling his unconscious Hay Lin, who was struggling to get decent air into her lungs.

"What's happening to them?" Nigel snapped, the question revealing his state of panic.

"I don't know," Will replied. "Taranee's so cold and Hay Lin can hardly breathe. It's like their Guardian powers have gone haywire."

"You don't know how right you are, Guardian." Will's head snapped up at the sound of such a familiar voice.

"Luba!" she cried as the cat/woman came stalking down the beach. "What's wrong with them?" Luba looked around cautiously before replying.

"We must get them to Candracar," she said. "Something has gone terribly wrong at the fortress. We must go now!" Will gave her unconscious friends one last glance before nodding.


	2. Chapter 2

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 2

When the Girls arrived at Candracar, decked out in their Guardian forms, the Oracle sat waiting for them. His face was as serene as always, but his eyes reflected a grave concern. Beside him, on either side, were former Guardians Halinor and Yan Lin. Irma felt great comfort seeing Hay Lin's grandma seated there. The old lady had helped them through many trials before; surely she would know what to do to get them through this. Unfortunately, Yan Lin's face was just as grim, and Halinors wasn't any more reassuring. The lump that had been sitting in Cornelia's throat grew bigger as the idea that Yan Lin couldn't help registered. Only Will seemed to keep a cool head. She stood tall and proud, cradling an unconscious Taranee in her arms, facing the Oracle with a fiery determination in her hazel eyes. It was clear that Will wanted answers, and she was going to get them.

"Oracle, what's going on?" Will demanded. "What happened to our friends?" The Oracle sighed, drifting closer to the Keeper. Halinor opened her mouth to protest, but the Oracle silenced her with a wave of his hand.

"It's alright, Halinor," he said in his light, airy voice. "They deserve to know. But first, let's get the Guardians of Fire and Wind to their chambers. They could use a little healing. Yan Lin, Althor… Would you please…?" The two elders nodded and, taking Hay Lin and Taranee from the Guardians, left the hall.

"Now will you give us some answers?" Cornelia growled, placing her perfectly manicured hands on her hips. The Oracle took a deep breath before launching into an explanation.

"Things are not well in Candracar," he began grimly. "Someone broke into the fortress today. They snuck into the Hall of Elements and stole two of your five Aurameres. Judging by the way your friends reacted, I assume you could guess which two were taken."

"Taranee's and Hay Lin's…" murmured Cornelia.

"Exactly," replied the Oracle. "When their Aurameres were removed from the chamber, it upset the internal balance of their powers…"

"Making Taranee go cold and Hay Lin struggle to breathe," concluded Will.

"But what about Luba?" Irma snapped impatiently. "She's supposed to be the Keeper of the Aurameres. Why didn't she stop it? What kind of cat is she if she can't smell the rats she's supposes to keep out?" From the corner Luba hissed, stalking forward to confront Irma. The cat/woman and the Water Witch haven't always seen eye to eye. They were always shooting for a chance to provoke each other.

"I was on an important errand for Candracar and had to postpone my duties!" Luba growled. The Oracle waved his hand to silence her and she backed away, frustrated.

"Well, do you know who took them? If we knew, maybe we could track them down and recover the Aurameres." Leave it to Will to always think practically in times like this, Cornelia thought.

"I'll give you one guess," Irma mumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. Will's expression turned sour and Cornelia stared at the ground. Every girl was thinking the same thing, but only Halinor had the courage to voice it.

"Nerissa," she said gravely. "Nerissa has returned."

"But how?" Irma countered. "The Council stripped her of her powers. She's practically harmless now."

"Maybe she sent someone else," Will offered, "Someone who could get in and out without the Council Knowing."

"But who?" asked Cornelia. "Who's left for her to send?"

"She still has Miranda and Frost at her side," Halinor suggested, "And possibly Raythor."

"No," was Will's answer. "Frost and Raythor would make a scene of it, and even Miranda's not that inconspicuous. She must have a new set of eyes on the inside." The Guardians all nodded, lost in thought.

"You must discover who stole them," The Oracle said, interrupting the silence. "It is of dire importance that you recover the Aurameres and return them here at once. They are not meant to leave the fortress under any circumstances. If they are not returned by the Closing, I fear for you and your friends."

"Hold on!" Irma shouted. "What's 'the Closing' and why is it so important?"

"The Closing is a day where the main portals of the Veil open and close to mark the end of a Meridian year. In your world, you know it as a total lunar eclipse. The Aurameres stand to regulate the immense flow of magic coming from the Veil when it opens to until it closes. With two missing, the effects on both realms could be catastrophic."

"Catastrophic meaning…?"

"It could bring about an apocalyptic end to both Earth and Meridian."

"That's not good," Irma said with some sarcasm in her tone. Cornelia gave her one of the best shut up glares before speaking.

"We'll get those Aurameres back," she said. "Just allow us to wait until Taranee and Hay Lin recover."

"I'm afraid they won't be of much use to you," the Oracle said. "Since their orbs are not being regulated in the Chamber, their powers will be drastically weakened. They will be able to perform only minimal tasks until you return their Aurameres."

"So we go out, find the sneak who stole the Aurameres and bring 'em back." Irma spoke as if it was a crystal clear answer only she could see. "Problem solved. They can survive without their powers until we bring their Aurameres back, right?" It was meant to be a joke, but the Oracle answered with a sad look and silence, turning Irma's go-get-em attitude into a worried frown. "Right?" she asked again. "They're going to be okay?" Again, the Oracle said nothing. The lack of answers made Will scared and frustrated at the same time.

"Oracle," she said, "What will happen to them without their Aurameres?" Cornelia could hear the fear and desperation in her leader's voice, and it made her all the more uncomfortable.

"I'd hoped that this topic would not arise," the Oracle said, lowering his eyes so as not to meet the Guardians terrified gazes. "I regret to be the one to tell you this, but if you do not return the Aurameres by the Closing. There is a good chance that your two fellow Guardians may die."


	3. Chapter 3

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 3

While the Guardians discussed the troubles of Candracar, Taranee and Hay Lin had their own problems. Their dreamlike state was not as peaceful as it could have been. Both girls had slowly drifted into a deep, coma-like sleep where they fell into deep dark memories. Taranee saw nothing but blackness and emptiness as she groped around for a light source, some form of good to hold onto. Her magic palm fires wouldn't light, and she felt as if the walls were steadily crawling towards her. Her heart fluttered rapidly in her chest; her breaths were short and ragged. This dark prison was taking its toll on her mind. She was losing bits and pieces of who she was. Taranee sat panicking like that until she heard a voice cry out in her mind through the telepathic link.

_Taranee? Are you here?_ That sounded like Hay Lin's voice. She sounded so scared. It didn't take much to get the Air Guardian spooked. Taranee swallowed her own bouts of fear and called out to her friend.

_Hay Lin? I'm here, but where are you?_

_I'm not sure. Everything's so dark… I'm scared, T._

_I know. Everything will be fine. Keep talking so I can find you._ Hay Lin began to call out, repeating her friend's name over and over in hopes of being rescued. After a while, Taranee's eyes adjusted to the dark, and she began to see the outline of a figure. A figure who was hunched over crying; Taranee could even see the long pigtails and translucent fairy wings of Hay Lin.

Taranee almost screamed in joy. She pushed herself through the last few feet of darkness to land beside her friend. Hay Lin squealed in delight before burying her head in Taranee's shoulder. Her tiny body shook with the force from every sob.

_Oh Taranee! What happened to us? Where are we?_ Taranee didn't have the answers to those questions; however, someone else out there apparently did.

_Why, my child, you are in my realm now. _The voice that cut through the dark like razors seemed very familiar to Taranee. There was that similar sense of danger and deceit Taranee had always felt when facing… Taranee gasped and stared up in horror.

_N-nerissa!_ She cried mentally. Hay Lin shrank back even more, attempting to hide behind her friend.

_But… but how?_ Hay Lin stuttered. _We took all of your powers! They're locked away in the Heart!_

_You can't be real! _Taranee cried. _This is just some twisted trick!_

_Oh I assure you, child, this is no trick. _A face began to appear from the shadows. Taranee recognized the wrinkled face and long black hair she'd spent so long trying to destroy. _And I'm very much alive._ Cold laughter laced the endless caverns with their echoes. Both Guardians winced and cowered as Nerissa shot jolts of lightning into the area. The white streaks sent sparks that lit up the background of black. Taranee tried to black away, avoiding the sparks, but it was too late. One of the shocks hit the back of her neck. In a few seconds, Taranee was curled up on the floor, her body convulsing from the white hot heat. It wasn't at all comfortable like her own fire; this burned with the vengeance of its mistress. Taranee was vaguely aware of Hay Lin's voice calling her name, but it sounded so distant and faint. Her stomach flipped and lurched from the pain. Hot tears pressed on her eyes as she peered up at Nerissa.

_Please!_ She pleaded silently. _Stop!_ The old woman laughed, and with the wave of her gnarled hand the lightning stopped. The violent convulsions in Taranee's stomach ceased, and the girl rolled on her back in relief.

_Giving up so soon, Taranee?_ Nerissa hissed. _Oh well. Now that I have your attention, I can discuss matters with you alone._ For the first time, Taranee remembered Hay Lin. Glancing around, she couldn't find any sin of her Asian friend.

_What did you do with Hay Lin?_ Taranee asked as coldly as she could.

_She is fine. Her mind has returned to the real world._

_Okay, so what do you want with me?_

_The grand plan is of no importance to you now._

_What grand plan?_

_Just understand that until you give me what I want, I will make your life a living hell._ Nerissa laughed and sent more lightning bolts at the already injured Taranee. This time, it was too much for the Fire Guardian to handle. She screamed a scream so unnatural it shook the air around her. She couldn't take it anymore. Taranee fell unconscious as Nerissa's laugh echoed in her head.

Hay Lin was worried. A few minutes ago she'd been by Taranee's side as Nerissa appeared out of nowhere. Now she was seated on a white fluffy cloud in her Air Chamber. Her heart raced do fast she feared it would fly away. In her mind, she could still hear her friend's screams mingling with the old witch's laughter as lightning zoomed above their heads.

Eager to see if Taranee had roused from their nightmare, Hay Lin pushed herself off the cloud and into the empty space below. Her tiny wins caught her in midair, and she fluttered out into the open hallway. She began to run as soon as her feet hit the ground, Hay Lin raced down the hall and, while turning a corner. Ran face first into Irma. The brown haired Guardian stumbled backwards, her blue eyes looking startled.

"Slow down, Hay, where's the fire?" Irma joked. Hay Lin's heart flared with relief at the sight of her best friend. She threw her slender arms around Irma in a big hug.

"Oh Irma!" she cried, "It was horrible! Nerissa found us and she went after Taranee and… Oh my god! Taranee! Irma is she okay?"The goofy smile on Irma's face faded at Hay Lin's question.

"I don't know, Hay," she said. "When I left, she was having a nightmare. She was screaming and having a fit, like a seizure. It took both Cornelia and Will to hold her still. They told me to come and check on you, so I don't know what happened after that." Hay Lin began to worry uncontrollably; she grabbed Irma's hand and began hauling ass down the hallway.

"I have to see if she's okay!" Hay Lin said, her heart beating fast with fear. She could already see the flickering firelight from the Chamber at the end of the hall. Hay Lin and Irma peered into the open room, and Hay Lin let out a sigh of relief. Taranee was awake.

The Fire Witch was curled up in Will's arms. Her body shook with every sob she made into the redhead's shoulder. Her head snapped up when she heard Hay Lin's footsteps enter the room.

"Hay Lin! You're okay! You just disappeared and I… I thought…" Taranee's words drowned onto soft sobs as she began to cry again. Hay Lin dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Taranee's neck.

"I was worried about you," she told Taranee. "What happened?" Hay Lin felt Taranee's body tense as she explained.

"Nerissa's back," she told her friends. "And she wants something from me. I don't know what she wants, but she's determined to get it. She said… she said that until she got it, she'd make my life a living hell."Taranee choked out the last word. Hay Lin had to admit, hearing Taranee cuss was funny, but it wasn't right to laugh under the present circumstances.

"It's okay, T," she said, trying to console her friend. "Nerissa's not getting anyone while we're here." She pulled her arms away, and suddenly felt something risen up on her friend's neck. Her eyes flew to where her fingers made contact, and her expression became puzzled.

"Taranee," she said, "What's on your neck?" Behind her glasses, Taranee's tear-reddened eyes showed her confusion.

"What are you talking about, Hay Lin?" Will asked.

"On the back of her neck… it's like a burn or a brand. Taranee, lift up your braids." Taranee did as she was told, and Will saw what Hay Lin had discovered. There was a small patch of risen flesh, about the size of a tennis ball, concealed on the back of Taranee's neck. To Will, it appeared to be a ring burned into her neck, with a jagged line cut through the center. The breath caught in Will's chest as she struggled to stay calm for Taranee's sake.

"It… it's a seal," she stuttered. "Nerissa's seal. Taranee cried out and buried her head once again on Will's shoulder, reduced to yet another fit of hysterics.

**Hey!!! Heres chapter three for all of you following my story! I would really appreciate iyt if you would post some reviews for me. Plus, first one to review gets one million dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!( Not really **** ) But go ahaead and review any way! You know you want to………….**


	4. Chapter 4

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 4

Somewhere, in the depths of Meridian's caves and tunnels, Miranda paced restlessly across the stone floor. Water dripped slowly from the stalactites on the ceiling, grouping in puddles on the floor and soaking her human feet. Miranda growled; she hated being stuck as a human. Her body felt cramped and disorienting, especially while confined to this place. It was tight, wet, and had a dank, disgusting smell. The fact that she shared this space with Raythor, Frost, and Frost's idiotic pet Crimson didn't make her mood any brighter.

After a half hour of watching Miranda pace, Raythor sighed and put down the long sword he'd been meticulously polishing.

"Oh come off it, girlie," he growled at her. "Your pacing is enough to make any man go mad had he decided to watch you long enough."

"I'm just so damn bored!" Miranda shouted, throwing a large rock at the cavern walls. It broke and shattered into many pieces all across the floor. Seating herself on a boulder, Miranda continued to grumble. "How come we have to wait here while Nerissa and her new little pet get to run around causing destruction? I'm twice as good as the new bitch, and twice as faithful. So how come I've been left behind to play babysitter for a bunch of incompetent morons?" Frost, who'd been paying no attention to Miranda's ramblings, suddenly looked up at the insult. Furious, he stood towering over the spider girl. Frost lifted her off the ground by the front of her dress and held her against the stone wall.

"Who you callin' a moron, shrimp?" he snarled.

"Get your meaty hands off me and get your disgusting face out of mine!" Miranda snapped, her dark eyes glistening with hatred. Frost drew back his fist and was about to let it fly when a new voice entered the cavern.

"Now, Frost, is that any way to treat a lady? Even one as vulgar as Miranda?" Frost dropped his captive and snickered. Raythor smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Here we go again," he mumbled under his breath. Miranda just smoothed out her dress and scowled.

"Oh goodie," she said sarcastically, "The changeling's back." From out of the dark entrance a girl, no older than fifteen, came into view. Her hair was a pale shade of green, the same shade as her eyes. She had green and turquoise stripes on her cheeks and around her eyes, giving her an exotic look. Her black skirt and top were both cut short, leaving her legs and stomach exposed.

"Glad you're excited to see me," she said. "Hello, boys," she said, acknowledging Raythor and Frost. "And hello to you , too, Crimson." She reached out and petted the big strong animal. Miranda scowled; the stupid thing tried to bite her every time she came near.

"What? No hello for me, Vera? Gosh, that hurts my feelings." The girl looked at Miranda and stood up.

"I'm sorry," Vera said. "I'm just not used to greeting the bugs in my home."

"Funny. This coming from the girl we dragged out from the slums of Meridian. You probably had several bugs as roommates." Vera snarled at this comment. She produced a small book from her pocket and showed it to Miranda.

"You better be careful, spider," she hissed. "Nerissa's having me study Earth animals for my mission, and there are some in here that are not to be messed with. Like this one." Vera held the book open to a page showing a dog-like animal that was huge and hade terrible fangs. "The wolf. I wouldn't tempt me to call upon it for help in tearing you apart."

Of course, you would go hiding behind something else to do your fighting for you." Vera grew even angrier with every word Miranda said. Her body shuddered, and she felt herself beginning to phase. She was about to show Miranda exactly what a wolf could do when an authorative voice stopped her change.

"Miranda! Vera! Stop this! I have enough to worry about without you two destroying each other!" Nerissa had entered the cave behind Vera, looking very satisfied. Vera cast one more deadly glance at Miranda, who sent the same in return. The air between them all but hummed with hatred. Finally, Vera broke the stare-off and kneeled before Nerissa.

"Mistress, I have completed my studying," she said. Miranda couldn't help but smirk. _She's such a kiss-up_, thought the spider girl.

"Ecxellent," said Nerissa. "You know what you are to do?"

"Find the girl, earn her trust, and lead her to you." Nerissa smiled at the simplicity of her plans.

"Good," she praised. "Then go." With a wave of her staff, Nerissa opened a fold. The air rippled, and soon a pink and silver portal appeared. "Do not fail me, Vera." The girl nodded and leapt through the fold without another word to the people in the cave.

**Wow! I'm already on chapter four. As you may have found out, Vera is Nerissa's 'new set of eyes'. I don't know if the shapshifting thing goes well with the story, but hey, it's my tale, and I'll write it how I want. So go ahead and review already!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 5

Back on Earth, Taranee sat on a park bench, her knees tucked up to her chest. Her wary eyes watched as birds and squirrels darted towards the scattered bread crumbs she'd thrown. All around her people were laughing and following little children around trees and playgrounds. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying the mellow summer day, while Taranee wallowed in her own memories.

Her mind nervously remembered the mark on the back of her neck. Throughout the morning, Irma had dragged her to every clothing store in Heatherfield. She'd bought dozens of new hoodies and scarves to hide the burn from her parents, but she couldn't hide it from herself. The cold laughter still echoed in her head, and no matter what she did it wouldn't leave. It'd given her multiple nightmares last night, bringing Nerissa and the white hot lightning to life. Taranee shivered, despite the warm weather, as she recalled her own pain and fear.

The memories brought around the questions she'd been asking since the attack. What had Nerissa wanted? What did she mean by her 'grand plan'? And why did she want Taranee? Lost in her thoughts, Taranee didn't hear the girl coming towards her until she was seated on the bench.

"Are you okay?" Taranee jumped and turned, startled, to the girl that had spoken. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's just, you look like you're scared of something." _You don't know how right you are,_ Taranee thought, taking in the girl's appearance. She was young, not much older than Taranee herself, with dark brown curls and the most captivating green eyes Taranee had ever seen.

"It's nothing," she told the girl. "You wouldn't understand, anyway."

"Oh I bet I'd understand more than you think, Taranee." Hearing the stranger say her name made Taranee's body tense.

"How do you know my name?" Taranee asked.

"I know everything about you," the girl replied, "And your fellow Guardians. I come from Meridian and you guys are like heroes there. Everyone knows you." _Now there's a creepy thought, _Taranee said in her mind.

"You're from Meridian?" Taranee asked, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Can you prove it?" The girl nodded, getting up from the bench.

"Come on, I'll show you!" She grabbed Taranee's wrist and pulled her into the thick woods at the edge of the park. The Fire Guardian grew nervous as the busy crowd of people disappeared and she was left alone with this stranger. The girl walked behind a pair of tall bushes and, when she came back, her looks had drastically changed. Her brown hair had faded to a pale shade of green, and her skin had darkened in color. She had green marks on her cheeks and shoulders like Caleb used to have.

"I'm from a Meridian race called Skyvans **( pronounced "Skee-vans, fyi). **We're shapeshifters, sort of like Cedric used to be, really." Taranee was still a little doubtful. Of course this girl couldn't be from Earth, but one thing still confused Taranee.

"When you say shapeshifter," she asked, "do you mean…"

"Yup. I can become anything and everything. Watch." The girl's body shuddered, and the air became unnaturally thick and fuzzy. She dropped to the ground, and soon there was a brown, green-eyed dog in her place. The green markings from her face now decorated her eyes and shoulders. The dog ran a few circles around an amazed Taranee before becoming a green haired human again.

"Whatcha think?" she asked.

"That's too cool!" was Taranee's reply. "I totally believe you."

"Good. So now do you want to tell me what's bothering you? No one can hear, and I promise I won't tell a soul." Taranee didn't want to tell this complete stranger about her problems, but she couldn't help it. Something about the girl's calm disposition and charisma made Taranee feel safe. Besides, she had to tell someone soon or she would explode.

Before she knew it, Taranee was spilling everything to this girl. She told her about passing out on the beach and waking up in Candracar. She talked about her Auramere being stolen. She told her about Nerissa's plans and the pain of the lightning. She showed her mark and what it was. By the end, Taranee was close to tears. The girl just listened and , by the end, look shocked.

"Woah. Sounds like you've had quite an adventure," she said.

"You can say that again," Taranee replied.

"Well, then lets do something to make you forget." The girl gave Taranee a friendly, one armed hug. "Why don't you show me around Heatherfield? I have to get used to being here, and you need a good distraction." Taranee smiled, thankful that this girl understood how she was feeling.

"That sounds great," she said. The girl nodded and, in a split second, changed back into the pale, brown haired girl. "I just realized that you never told me your name," Taranee pointed out as they left the forest. The girl gave her most innocent smile before replying.

"My name is Vera."

In another part of town, Hay Lin sat in the basement of her family's restaurant with Irma and Cornelia. The basement had been named the unofficial headquarters of the Guardians, and they held all of their private meetings here. The three girls were waiting for Will and Taranee to arrive before starting their impromptu discussion. Hay Lin couldn't help feeling a little worried that Taranee hadn't showed by now. She was never late for anything, and no one could get a hold of her.

"Where are they?" she voiced out loud. Cornelia and Irma looked up at her with reassuring smiles.

"Don't worry, Hay," Irma said. "I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"At least Will will be," Cornelia muttered under her breath. Irma heard and cast a warning glance at the blonde.

"Not helping, Corny," she hissed.

"Well it's the truth! When we called Taranee's house, Peter said she'd gone out with some girl she met in the park."

"I didn't know Taranee was into girls."

"Irma!"

"Sorry! It was a joke Hay Lin!"

"Well it wasn't funny. Taranee's too shy to just make friends with anyone she meets. This is weird for her. What if this girl is someone Nerissa sent to spy on her?"

"Ha!" Cornelia's laugh echoed in the empty room. "Come on Hay Lin be serious. Not every person is a hideous monster in disguise."

"Yeah. Just Corny, "Irma joked. Cornelia didn't find it at all amusing.

"Very funny. What I meant was, there's a very slim chance that this girl's a Meridian spy. Taranee's just broadening her horizons. We can't stop her from making new friends if she wants to."

"I know," Hay Lin said, crossing her arms across her chest. "It's just… not like Taranee to ditch a meeting."

"That's probably a good thing. We can discuss Nerissa's intentions without getting her freaked out." Hay Lin hadn't noticed that Will had entered the room, via fold. Behind her, Elyon was entering, her arms full with large books. "I've been talking to Elyon about this, and she thinks she's found out why Nerissa's after Taranee." Elyon nodded, her straw colored braids bobbing with her head. Seating herself on one of the chairs Hay Lin had laid out, she opened one of the books and held it up for the Guardians to see.

"I was doing some research after Will told me what happened at Candracar," Elyon said. "There aren't many prophecies or charms that deal with fire, but when I looked in the forbidden spell books, I found this." Elyon cleared her throat and began to read. " 'Fire is the source of all strength and power in the worlds. If one was to obtain and control the source of this power, he or she would control the strength of all the worlds combined.' This spell explains how to harness fire for your own doings. The person performing the spell would have to drain the source and apply it to their own body. In other words, it's a transfer spell." Elyon's expression grew grave as she continued. "I'll give you one guess as to who the source is." The entire room fell dead silent. Even Irma had no jokes to brighten the mood of the group. Finally, Will was able to voice what everyone else was afraid to say.

"Taranee and her Auramere," she said. "They're the source."

"So Nerissa is trying to steal Taranee's powers?" Cornelia asked, not willing to believe what she was hearing. Elyon nodded.

"Well, it's just a theory," Elyon added. "I could be horribly wrong, but it's the only lead we have, so I say we go with it."

"That explains why Nerissa had Taranee's Auramere stolen," Will said.

"But it doesn't explain why she took mine, too," Hay Lin said, her voice showing her nervousness.

"Air and Fire are compatible elements," Elyon explained. "Maybe Nerissa hopes that by joining your two Aurameres, she can double the power she receives."

"Or maybe she just needed some extra insurance to make sure Taranee cooperates," Cornelia said. Her opinion didn't help brighten Hay Lin's mood at all.

"But we still don't know why Nerissa left her seal on Taranee's neck," Will said. Hay Lin frowned; she posed a good point. Fortunately, Irma had an opinion for that.

"Maybe that's her way of claiming Taranee as hers," she said. "Just like when a kid puts his name on a new toy; it allows him to prove that he can use it however he likes."

"Taranee's not something you can buy from a shelf, Irma," Cornelia snapped at this comment.

"Actually, she has a point," Will said. "She could have put it there to show us that she owns Taranee and will find her no matter what we do."

"I don't like this," Hay Lin said. When everyone gave her strange looks, she explained. "This talking about Taranee behind her back like she's an object, not a person. I mean, shouldn't we have waited until Taranee was here to talk."

"Talk about what?" These words came out of nowhere, making Hay Lin jump. She fell off of her chair and onto the floor, sending Irma into a fit of giggles. Scowling, Hay Lin turned and saw Taranee standing on the stairs leading form the restaurant. Everyone went silent and looked at Will. The redhead blushed under the pressure and sighed.

"Come on in Taranee," she said. "We have a lot to tell you."

While the Guardians caught Taranee up to speed on their findings, Vera was scouring the city as a cat for a private pool of water to speak to her master. She was smiling to herself, proud at how easily she fooled the Fire Guardian. She had been hoping for a bit of a challenge from the girl, but she'd been disappointed. Taranee had melted like butter under her influence.

Laughing, Vera ducked down a deserted alleyway, swiftly dodging trash cans and boxes with her small cat's body. At the end of the alley, surrounded by trash and dirt, was a small puddle of muddy water. _Perfect,_ Vera thought. _It's nice and secluded. No one will hear me._ Changing back into a human, Vera held her hand over the puddle and muttered a few incomprehensible words. Soon the murky water turned blue, and a shriveled face appeared.

"Well," Nerissa snarled. "What news do you have?"

"I have earned the Fire Guardian's trust, my mistress," Vera replied. "She suspects nothing."

"Excellent. What of the other Guardians? Do they trust you yet?"

"They do not even know I exist. Trust me, mistress. When the time comes, Taranee, and all the other Guardians, won't even know what hit them."

**Uh oh!!! Looks like Taranee's in some serious trouble. Please let me know what you think!!!! This chapter is a lot to take in, so if its too confusing I'd like to know. So stop listening to me talk and hit the green review button already!!! **


	6. Chapter 6

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 6

That night, Hay Lin went home with a heart heavy with worry. Like Will had said, Taranee didn't take the news very well. She had a panic attack and looked as if she was going to pass out. And when Cornelia had questioned her about the friend she'd been spending the afternoon with, Taranee had gotten all defensive. She told her friends that Vera (which Hay Lin assumed was the girl's name) was a very nice person and understood what Taranee was going through. That's when Irma had gotten all upset that Taranee had told someone about the Guardians. Taranee got mad, which was something that almost never happened, and stormed out of the meeting saying she'd do whatever she wanted. Hay Lin was worried that her friend thought she couldn't trust the other Guardians, and would soon start slipping away from their circle of friendship.

Back in her loft bedroom, Hay Lin tried to forget about the disturbing conversation for the night. Getting out her supplies, she tried to relax doing what she did best: painting. She set her best brushes out next to her paints, got out a fresh canvas, and began to work her magic. When she painted, Hay Lin let her mind do the work. Her imagination flowed and her hand did what her mind told it to do. Every once in a while, she caught glances of the colors she was using: a splash of emerald here, some burnt sienna there, and a lot of obsidian black in these places. Her breathing slowed, and gradually, Hay Lin was swept away into her imagination.

An hour later, Hay Lin noticed that it was starting to get dark. Sighing, she dropped her brush and pallet and began to examine her work. Hay Lin was shocked at the results; there was no way that she had done this consciously. On the canvas, Hay Lin had painted two eyes and the tan skin around them. They were a startling shade of emerald green, contrasting with the midnight black and blue canvas. Something about them made little Hay Lin uneasy. She decided that she must still be unnerved by Taranee's strange behavior, and it was making her draw strange things. She glanced at the clock, and gasped when she saw that it read 10:30. She had to work the early shift at the Silver Dragon tomorrow, and if she didn't get some sleep she wouldn't make it through the morning. Pulling on her comfiest pajamas, Hay Lin turned off the lights and curled up in her bed.

Later that night, Hay Lin had a dream that shook her to the core. She was in a dank, dim lit cave, with water dripping from the ceiling. Looking around, something caught her eyes, and she gasped with horror. Taranee lay on the floor in front of her, bruised and bleeding. Her normally bright brown eyes were cold and hollow, as if someone had blown the fire out of them. Her arms lay beside her, twisted to an unnatural angle. Behind her, someone laughed, and Hay Lin saw a girl with strange green hair and markings on her face. Her eyes were emerald in color, and Hay Lin knew those eyes; they were the eyes she'd painted. The girl just laughed as Taranee, writhing in pain, attempted to breathe. Hay Lin screamed as the Fire Guardian's eyes began to roll back in her head and she died, whispering one final name on her lips.

"Vera."

Hay Lin woke then, screaming. Her whole body shook in fear, and she was sweating a rainstorm. Her body felt cold and empty as she recalled Taranee's death and final word. She cast one last glance at the still drying painting, then hastily picked up the phone from her bedside table. Her hands shook as she dialed the number, slowly and carefully so she would get it right. Her heart raced and her breath came faster as the phone on the other end rang once, then twice. Finally, someone on the other end answered her call. Hay Lin felt relieved to hear the groggy, muffled voice come through. She wasted no time getting to her point.

"Will," she said, her voice shaking, "It's Hay Lin. I just had a dream vision and Taranee's in real trouble."

The next morning, Vera woke to the sounds of waves hitting the shore. She'd spent the night in a place Taranee had showed her the day before, a place called Shell cave, curled up as a cat on the cold stone floor. Stretching and yawning, Vera changed back into a human, assessing her appearance in a nearby spring of water. Her green hair was ruffled and matted, and her clothes were plagued with numerous wrinkles. She gave her best attempt to fix her appearance, but with no prevail. Sighing, Vera gave up on her quest. It was no matter. She would change into someone with better looks later. Right now she had to figure out how to get Taranee away from her friends. It was Saturday, and Taranee had told her that Saturday was practice day for the Guardians. Vera decided that she would watch from afar as an inconspicuous animal, and, if she got lucky, the Guardians would let some vital information or weakness slip where she could hear.

Vera winced at the thought of deceiving Taranee. Despite her best efforts, she had taken a small liking to the girl. She almost didn't want to turn her in. Vera shook the sweet thoughts from her head. Her mission was to earn the girl's trust, and turn her over to Nerissa, not to make friends. As she changed into what Earthlings call a squirrel, Vera smirked and praised herself for being such a good liar. It would be almost too easy to fool the Guardians. Then Vera's squirrel senses came online, and she scampered off to find the Guardians hidden training area.

When Taranee showed up for practice, she was a little nervous. Part of her expected her friends to pester her about Vera again, but to her surprise none of them mentioned anything Meridian-like at all. They all smiled when she arrived, hugging her and joking with her. Irma and Cornelia seemed like their normal selves; they were arguing and bickering just like they always were. Will and Hay Lin seemed cheerful enough, but their eyes reflected a certain element of worry that had Taranee fooled. With her mind, she could feel their distress, but she didn't dare read their minds. To Taranee, the mind was a private place, and she had no right to go violating it without permission. So she decided to shrug it off and just have a fun practice like always.

For a while, all Taranee did was watch as Will and Cornelia attempted to knock each other out of the sky with lightning and stones. Taranee tuned herself in to Hay Lin and Irma's conversation.

"I got five bucks on Red knocking Corny out first," Irma said. Taranee rolled her eyes. Irma was always putting odds against Cornelia for everything, whether it be fighting bad guys or shopping.

"You're on," Hay Lin replied. "Will doesn't have a chance!" It pleased Taranee to see the tiny Air Guardian back to her carefree self. After their little escapade two days ago, Taranee thought she'd have still been scared out of her mind. But here she was, placing bets on some of her best friends. Taranee decided to get in on the two best friend's game.

"I'm with Hay Lin," she told Irma. "Cornelia's way stronger than Will. She'll knock her down in fifteen minutes tops." Irma smiled mischievously.

"Done," she said, shaking Taranee's hand to seal the bet. "This'll be the easiest ten bucks I've ever gotten!"

"In your dreams, Irma!" Hay Lin countered. "Taranee and I should just take that five bucks off your hands now, since there's no way you can win!" Taranee giggled, amused by the two girls' banters. Irma and Hay Lin were more entertaining than a cartoon, and there were times when Taranee half expected them to become crazy little anime people and start chasing each other with pots and pans. Lost in her daydreams, she wasn't paying any attention to the practice session until Cornelia landed square on top of her. The Earth Guardian had fallen from the air from one of Will's lightning bolts. The collision sent both girls rolling onto the ground, straight into a puddle of mud. Taranee heard Irma squeal with delight.

"Looks like you two owe me five bucks each." Taranee groaned. Here she was, covered in mud, and now she'd lost the only bet she ever tried to make. Things were not going her way today. Cornelia wasn't much better. Being covered in mud sent her into a long strain of complaints.

"Oh, look at my hair! And my clothes! These are fashion originals! Will Vandom, you have no idea how much trouble you are in right now!" Will landed innocently on the ground beside her, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Sorry, Corny," she said. "I wasn't aiming for the mud! Or Taranee, either. Sorry!" Taranee glowered, brushing mud from her glasses. Irma was laughing hysterically. For once, she didn't have a joke to spit out.

"This is just too funny!" was all she managed to say between giggles and snorts. Despite her feelings, Taranee began to laugh, too. Pretty soon, all of the Guardians were laughing and rolling on their sides. Well, all except for Hay Lin. She'd turned away from her friends and was staring at something in the trees. Will was the first to notice the Air Guardian's trance.

"What's wrong, Hay Lin?" she asked, finally recovering from her laughing fit.

"The breeze," Hay Lin replied. "It's warning me. Someone is watching us."

Up in a nearby tree, Vera had been watching the group in utter secrecy. She had heard Taranee's entire conversation with the brunette and the dark haired girl- she couldn't, for the life of her, remember their names- and was intrigued at how easily they were fascinated. Betting against one's friends was a strange behavior, even if the two didn't get along well.

Lost in her thoughts, Vera almost didn't notice when the dark haired girl looked up towards her hiding place and said, "Someone is watching us." The other Guardians stopped their laughter and peered around warily. Vera grew edgy as they spread out into a circle; it was time to quit while she was ahead.

Gathering all of her energy, Vera bunched up her tiny squirrel muscles and began leaping from branch to branch in hopes of escaping. The Guardians down below took no notice in her actions, which suited Vera just fine. It would make her disappearance much easier. Looking around at possible paths, Vera spotted what looked like the fastest route. Two long, gnarled branches jutted out over the clearing, directly above the blonde and the redhead. There was a three or four foot gap between the ends of the branches, one that Vera normally wouldn't chance, but the fear of being discovered drove her to it. Besides, how hard could it be?

Getting a good running start, Vera changed course and raced down the branch. Her heart fluttered in her tiny chest as she leaped out and into the void. For a moment she just floated, practically flying in the breeze. She saw the end of the far branch coming nearer and nearer. She might actually make it. Vera reached out with a tiny paw, hoping to bring the end of the jump closer. All of the sudden, gravity started to kick in, pulling her down. Vera soared on another foot and…

Dropped. Three feet from the edge. Vera's hope died in her stomach and she began to panic as gravity pulled her down towards the slowly gaining ground. She didn't have to wait long. After a few seconds of falling, her feet made contact with something hard: the blonde's head. The girl beneath her screamed and began flailing her arms around trying to knock Vera away. Vera's heart raced as large hands reached up and grabbed at her. She looked around desperately; there was nowhere to go. She had no choice; when the next hand reached up to grab her she bit down hard, tasting warm blood on her tongue. Someone else screamed and flung Vera off of the blonde's head, sending her head first onto the soft earth. The impact jarred her vision and she passed out.

Vera woke a few minutes later to someone's incessantly loud voice.

"Great, Corny, you killed her. Way to go." Vera recognized that voice; it was the brunette with the obnoxious attitude. She opened her eyes and stared down at her hands; her distinctly human hands. Vera gasped, and immediately wished she hadn't. Every girl standing around was alerted by her gasp, and turned to stare down at her like she was on exhibit at a museum.

"She's not dead, Irma," the blonde said. "But she will be soon. Just look at what she did to my hair!"

"I give her ten points for it; it's actually an improvement to how you normally look." The blonde growled, but the redhead intercepted her.

"Cornelia this isn't the time to be fighting!" she said. Cornelia glowered and crossed her arms.

"Then would you like to make her explain what she was doing in the trees, Will? And more importantly my hair?" Will nodded before turning her attention back to Vera.

"What were you doing there? And who are you?" Vera was about to open her mouth to spit back a reply, but someone on her left beat her to the punch.

"Stop badgering her with questions, Will! Cornelia just threw her head first onto the ground! Give her a chance to breathe!" Vera turned to look at her savior. Taranee was on the ground beside her. After helping her into a sitting position, Taranee began to speak again, this time to Vera. "Vera are you okay?"

"So this is the Vera you ditched us for yesterday," Irma said, seating herself on Vera's other side. "While I enjoyed the chaos you did to Corny's hair, I could have done without the bite." She lifted up her finger to reveal a small, red welt that was slowly leaking blood.

"Sorry," Vera mumbled in reply. "I just don't appreciate random strangers grabbing me like that."

"Enough said," Irma replied.

"That still doesn't explain what you were doing in that tree!" accused a new voice. The dark haired girl came out of nowhere and peered down at Vera. Vera paused, struggling to come up with an excuse. Thankfully, Taranee came to her rescue again.

"That doesn't matter, Hay Lin! Vera wasn't doing anything wrong!"

"Taranee's right," Vera cut in. "I just moved here from Meridian and I was touring the city in a different way to see places Taranee didn't already show me. I was coming this way when I saw Taranee, so I stopped to say hello. You all looked busy, so I was going to leave, but when I tried to jump a branch I missed and fell. Happy?" Vera stopped and bit her tongue, hoping they all believed her lie. Hay Lin still looked pretty skeptical, but Irma and Taranee looked totally convinced.

"See? It was a mistake. No harm done." Irma was trying to avoid a fight, holding up her arms in a peaceful gesture. Taranee said nothing; she was lost in concentration, staring at Hay Lin. Vera didn't know what she was doing, so she watched in wonder. After a while Taranee stood up, clearly angry, and began to shout at the small girl.

"So that's it?" she shouted. "You don't trust her because of what you saw in a dream? That's insane!" Hay Lin looked completely taken aback by her friend's outburst.

"How did you…?" Hay Lin's eyes widened in realization. "You were reading my mind?" Vera was about to ask a question, but the two girls didn't sound happy with each other, so she kept her mouth shut.

"I didn't have to. You were broadcasting the thought like a radio station! Just because you had a dream about Vera doesn't mean she's a bad person! Sometimes dreams are just that: a dream!"

"How do you explain her showing up the day after? It's too freaky to be a coincidence, Taranee! Open your eyes and see that! How can you not understand?"

"Oh I understand just fine! You can't handle me being with other people, so you accuse my new friend! You're just that insecure!" Hay Lin's words were stopped in their tracks, and she looked close to tears. This was where Will decided it was time to step in.

"Taranee, listen…"

"No **YOU** listen, Will Vandom! I can be friends with whomever I want, and if you guys don't like it, then I'm done here! Come on Vera." With that, Taranee turned and walked away. Vera just followed, still shocked by what just happened. Behind her, the other Guardians stared open mouthed as their friend walked away. Inside, Vera was retracing her plans.

_This is not what I had planned,_ she thought to herself. Vera hadn't expected to get in the way of Taranee's friendship, but it was no matter. Taranee had isolated herself perfectly, getting the hard work out of the way. Now all Vera had to do was get her to Meridian, and with her friends so shocked, they wouldn't suspect anything if Taranee didn't answer their calls. Satisfaction rose in Vera's stomach. This was all way too easy.

**Sounds like there's trouble in paradise for the Guardians. Will Vera manage to kidnap Taranee without getting caught??? And will Hay Lin ever recover from the harsh argument??? Read on and find out!!!**


	7. Chapter 7

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 7

Taranee (still in Guardian form because she hadn't bothered to wait for Will to change her back) and Vera walked slowly down the beach. Neither one was willing to start a conversation, given what had just happened. Taranee in particular was in no mood to talk. She was still wallowing in the betrayal she'd felt while probing Hay Lin's mind. How could she possibly think that? Just because of a stupid painting and a stupid dream. Was Taranee not allowed to make friends without her permission? Rage bubbled up in her stomach. Well, Hay Lin would have to get used to the fact that Taranee had friends outside of their circle. She had put up with Hay Lin's bailouts when Eric came calling with hugs and roses. But suddenly it was wrong to be with anyone besides their clique? Stupid Hay Lin was being a hypocrite. It hurt to think such bad things about her best friend, but Taranee felt to hurt to forgive and forget. After a while, it was apparent that Vera could stand the silence no more.

"Come on Taranee," she pleaded, "Let's go to Shell Cave. You said yourself it was a good place to clear your head after… uncomfortable events." Taranee was grateful that one of her friends understood that she was feeling uncomfortable. However, the sun was beginning to set over the ocean. Her mother would be wondering where she was.

"I don't know, Vera," Taranee said to the green haired girl. "It's getting late, and my mom's bound to be wondering where I am soon." Vera, however, was persistent in her efforts.

"But we'll only go for a little while. I just can't stand seeing you so depressed. I think you'll really feel better after we just sit in there alone for a while." Finally, Taranee caved in and let Vera lead her down the long stretch of sand to where the cave stood waiting. In the setting sunlight, it looked like the mouth of a giant whale waiting to swallow her whole. However, there was still some light inside, so the girls made their way in and sat down. Almost instantly, Taranee began to feel unnerved. Something was wrong about this; the way the shadows danced on the smooth walls made her feel as if this was a trap.

"On second thought, Vera, I really think we should leave." Taranee could hear the nervousness on her own voice. Vera didn't listen to Taranee's suggestion; she just got up to stand in the mouth of the cave, blocking the exit.

"I can't let you do that Taranee," she said, her normally alluring voice tinged with ice. Taranee's hear raced faster in her chest. "My employer wanted me to ensure that you got to her safely, and I can't let you go if that's going to happen, now can I?" Taranee was scared and confused. She stood up on trembling knees, and tried to put the pieces together.

"But… this doesn't make any sense! Why would you…" Taranee gasped in realization. "Hay Lin was right! You are a traitor! You work for… for…" Taranee couldn't bring herself to say the name.

"Yes I work for Nerissa. Took you long enough to figure that out."

"But I trusted you! I thought you were my friend!" Taranee was practically screaming at Vera now. The green eyed girl just chuckled as the air began to grow fuzzy. Taranee knew all too well what was about to happen, and she was powerless (literally) to stop it. She just watched in horror as Vera disappeared and a large, green marked wolf took her place. The beast snarled and crouched, preparing to spring.

_You should have listened to your friends, Taranee_, came Vera's cold voice in the Fire Guardian's head. The wolf sprang, and Taranee attempted one final call before slipping out of consciousness. She called out desperately to the first two people on her mind.

_Irma! Hay Lin! Help!!!_

In a loft above the Silver Dragon, Irma had all but given up hope. She'd tried everything to get Hay Lin to wake up from her state of guilt and sadness. She'd tried art, funny jokes about Cornelia, and even resorted to the embarrassing pictures of Cornelia from a previous slumber party that she always kept on her person. But nothing worked. Hay Lin just sat on her bed, hugging a stuffed alien, and staring into nothing with her big wet eyes. Irma sighed, and slumped down on the bed in defeat. Hanging her head in her hands, she tried to talk Hay Lin into living again.

"Come on, Hay, say something!" she pleaded. The tiny Guardian just sat there, staring.

"There's nothing to say," was her soft reply. Irma could still hear the tears on her voice from when she'd been crying. Taranee had really hurt her, and there was nothing Irma could do to fix it. Helplessness was an uncomfortable feeling for Irma. She was used to fixing every problem with a smile and a good joke, but that plan had failed. And this time, there was no plan B.

Suddenly, the phone rang out of nowhere. When Hay Lin made no move to answer it, Irma sighed again and picked it up.

"Lin residence," she said into the receiver, trying to sound as perky as she could.

"Hello, this is Teresa Cook. Is this Hay Lin?" asked the all too familiar voice of Taranee's mom.

"Actually, Mrs. Cook, this is Irma. Hay Lin is… busy at the moment."

"Well then maybe you can help me. Is Taranee there with you? She never came home today, and that's not like her."

"Sorry, she's not here. She's probably with Will or Cornelia. Or maybe Vera, that new girl she's been seeing." Irma saw Hay Lin wince out of the corner of her eye when she said the name. "I'll call and ask around. If I find her, I'll tell her to call you, okay?"

"Thank you Irma."

"Any time, Mrs. Cook." The other line went dead, so Irma hung up the phone. As soon as the phone hit the receiver, Irma heard a voice cry out in panic at the back of her mind, loud and sharp.

_Irma! Hay Lin! Help!!!_ Irma fell backwards onto the bed in shock. That sounded like Taranee's voice. Irma turned desperately to where Hay Lin was seated and was greeted by two wide, dark pools of fear.

"Did… did you hear that?" Hay Lin managed to stutter. Irma couldn't find the right words, so she just nodded. Hay Lin sat, staring for a few more minutes, then jumped into action. She grabbed the phone in her tiny hands and furiously dialed a number. There was a short pause on the other end, and then Irma heard the muffled reply from the other end.

"Will, its…" Hay Lin paused as the other person started to talk. "Cornelia? Where's… you know what never mind. Where are you guys?... At your house? Okay, we'll be there in ten minutes. Tell Will it's an emergency!" With that she hung up the phone and bounded out of the room. "Come on Irma!" she snarled, and Irma followed without another word.

Across town, Cornelia, Will, Matt, and Caleb were sitting in Cornelia's bedroom loft, waiting for Irma and Hay Lin to arrive with their news. It'd been twenty minutes since the call, and Will was starting to get nervous. She hoped that her friends hadn't gotten in trouble along the way. Taking a deep breath, Will snuggled herself even deeper into Matt's arms.

Sensing her friend's anxiety, Cornelia got up from where she sat beside Caleb and placed a warm hand on Will's shoulder.

"Relax, Will," she said. "I'm sure Irma and Hay Lin will be here in no time." Will, however, wasn't reassured.

"What do you think they were talking about?" she asked hesitantly. Cornelia sighed.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it got Hay Lin really worked up. She said it was an emergency." Will's worry deepened, and Matt saw an opportunity to interrupt.

"I'm sure that it's nothing too bad," he said. "Irma and hay Lin are always kidding around. This could be one of their pranks."

"I guess," Will said sullenly. "But it doesn't feel like one. I think they were being serious."

"Well, I guess we won't know for sure until…" Cornelia's sentence was interrupted by the loud piercing ring of the telephone. Puzzled, the blonde reached out to answer it, shouting through the door so her parents would not pick it up.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver. There was a pause as whoever was calling spoke.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cook, but Taranee isn't here." Will's heart rate quickened with worry. Taranee wasn't home, and she wasn't with Hay Lin, so where was she?

"Actually, Mrs. Cook, Will's here with me." Will shook her worries from her head and tried to listen to Cornelia's conversation. "I'll be sure to tell her to call you if I see her… No I don't know where she is. Have you tried calling Nigel's parents?" Cornelia winced as Mrs. Cook began ranting angrily on the other end of the phone. "She's not there either? I'm sorry, but I honestly don't know where she is." Cornelia felt weird saying these things about her friend. "Sure thing. Good bye." Cornelia sighed as she hung up the phone.

"Taranee's not home," she told the others. "And she's not with Nigel or Hay Lin. This is really bad."

"Where could she have gone?" Will asked, her voice shaking with her fear. No one had an answer to that, and no one wanted to voice the only other option they had. Thankfully none of them had to. At that moment, Mrs. Hale opened the bedroom door.

"Irma and Hay Lin are here to see you, girls," she said cheerfully. She ushered the two nervous looking girls into the room and shut the door. Will let out the anxious breath she'd been holding since the phone call. When she saw Hay Lin's worried eyes, her fear was restored.

"Guys we have a problem," Irma said seriously.

"Does this have anything to do with Taranee being missing?" Caleb asked. Irma looked surprised..

"How did you know?"

"Her mom just called a second ago."

"Oh. Well anyway, her mom called Hay Lin's place and once I hung up the phone, Hay Lin and I heard someone call for help in the back of our minds." Irma paused and took a deep breath before continuing with her bad news. "We think it was Taranee." Cornelia stopped breathing for the slightest second, falling backwards onto the pink sheets of her four poster bed. This wasn't good at all.

"What could have happened?" Will asked. "I mean, the last any of us saw her she was walking away from the park with…" The redhead paused, realization hitting her hard. Irma caught on to Will's train of thought, bringing about the only possible explanation.

"Vera!" she cried. "Vera's done something to Taranee!"

"I knew that girl was no good!" Hay Lin exclaimed, crossing her arms across her frail chest. Then she sighed and buried her head in her hands. "If only I'd gotten the chance to tell Taranee before that practice. Then none of this would have ever happened!" She sank to her knees on the floor, crying so hard that she shook. Irma knelt beside the tiny Guardian and wrapped her arms around her reassuringly. Looking back at Will, she took no time in starting to plan a strategy.

"Will, we need to do something," she said. "We can't leave Taranee alone. We have to go after her."

"Excuse me for being the negative one," Caleb interrupted, "But how can we help her if we don't know where she is?"

"Caleb has a point," Will agreed. "Until we know where to find her, there's not much we can do."

"But we can't just do nothing!" Irma cried. "Isn't there some way we can, like, track her powers with the Heart or something?"

"I don't think so, but maybe we could trigger her powers of telepathy and contact her," Cornelia suggested. "That way, she could describe her location to us and we could find her."

"Corny, that's the first good idea you've had in years."

"Oh don't act so surprised Irma. And I told you to stop calling me that!"

"There's no time for fighting, girls," Will said. "We need to work together if we're going to reach her. But first we need to send an astral drop home so her mother doesn't worry." Pulling out the Heart, Will imagined her lost friend in her mind as she said the words "Pord Lartsa." Soon there was an exact copy of Taranee standing in the room. Will put the jewel back in it's place and spoke to the copy, handing her a piece of scribbled on paper. "I need you to go to this address and pretend to be Taranee. Tell your mom you were late because you… were shopping for Peter's birthday gift, and you wanted to get it before it sold out in the stores. Then go to bed and, when the alarm clock rings, follow this list of instructions to the letter." The astral drop nodded and left the room. Once the door was shut, Will got down to business. She gathered the Guardians, as well as Matt and Caleb, and formed a circle on the floor. "I need you all to put forth some of your elemental energy into me so I can try to patch through to Taranee. Once I say go, everyone call her name in your minds." The group nodded and closed their eyes. Each Guardian pushed some of their own power into the Keeper.

Will felt all of the energy rush into her at once. There was the cold gust of Hay Lin's air. Then came the harsh blast of water from Irma. Last came the rough grip of Cornelia's earth. She added her own Quintessence into the mix, feeling the white hot zing of the lightning. She could also feel a part of both Matt and Caleb enter her mind, even though they had very little to give. Will gathered all of that energy together and forced it out and away. She thought about Taranee and tried to get a hold on her mind. A moment later, she felt the source of Taranee's fire blazing on the other end.

"Go! Now!" she cried out, and everyone added their voices into one simultaneous cry.

_Taranee!_


	8. Chapter 8

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 8

All six voices exploded like a bomb in Taranee's mind. She cried out as her eyes flew open, then shut again as they were unadjusted to the light that greeted them. Her head throbbed, and her body felt sore and stiff. She tried to rub the pain from the light out of her eyes, but her hands wouldn't move where she wanted them to. Her legs were also held motionless. Taranee began to panic, thrashing about wildly. She couldn't move, she couldn't see, and her throat was so dry that she thought she couldn't speak either.

Taranee stopped struggling when she heard muffled voices from somewhere nearby. Opening her eyes slowly, she became aware of her surroundings. She was in a cave, a small and crowded cave that could barely hold her. The only light came from a small, green flame on the smooth wall. Taranee began to panic all over again; she had a fear of small, dark spaces. Her breathing became shallow and her heart began beat rapidly. She was dangerously close to screaming when the voices came again.

_Taranee!_ cried a multitude of various voices. Taranee's head felt way too crowded, so she tried to organize the different sounds. Together, she couldn't understand what they were saying, but when she picked them apart, she recognized them all instantly.

_Guys?_ Taranee guessed. _Is that you?_

_Taranee! Oh my god we found you! Where are you?_ That tiny, light voice was defiantly Hay Lin's; Taranee would recognize the Air Guardian's voice anywhere. She tried to focus in on that one voice, and like magic all the others faded out like bad signals.

_Hay Lin, where are you?_ Taranee called desperately.

_I'm at Cornelia's with everyone else, but I just lost their voices. Where did they go?_

_I sent them out. I can't handle more than one person in my head at a time since my Auramere's been taken._

_Never mind that now. The important question is where are you?_

_I… I don't know. It looks like some sort of cave, but it's small and dark, and I can't move to see further._

_What happened to you? After you left with Vera, you just, like, disappeared off the map._

_Vera tricked me. She lured me into Shell Cave and kidnapped me. She works for Nerissa._ Taranee's eyes filled with tears as she spoke her next words. _Hay Lin you were right all along. You told me Vera was bad news and I didn't listen. I ignored your warnings, and said all those mean things to you. I'm really sorry for everything, Hay Lin. Can you ever forgive me?_

_There's nothing to forgive, _was Hay Lin's choked reply._ I understand how hurt you must have been when you read my thoughts, because I've been there too. When Irma, Cornelia, and I started hanging out with you and Will, everyone thought we were insane._

_That's different. Will and I aren't a couple of magical goons whose sole intent was to drag you off into the depths of nowhere for an evil witch who wants to destroy you and all you live for._

_That's beside the point. Can we finish this discussion after we find you and rescue you?_

_I already told you, I don't know where I am. This cave is probably somewhere in Meridian, but I can't tell- _Taranee's sentence was cut short as the muffled voices drew closer and clearer. _Someone's coming, Hay Lin. Hold on for just a minute, and I'll try to transmit the conversation to you._ As she finished up her conversation with Hay Lin, part of the stone wall began to slide away in front of her. Soon, there was a wide entranceway where the wall once stood. What was on the other side made Taranee's eyes widen in fear.

"Look who finally woke up," Raythor said as he stepped closer to Taranee. He pushed her chin up with the cold tip of his sword, and for the first time Taranee saw what held her hands immobile. Her wrists were bound with a length of thick cord, secured to a stalactite growing from the roof of the cavern. She guessed her feet were bound in a similar fashion to the floor. She had no time to attempt to break her bonds, because from around the corner a familiar silhouette entered the chamber. Taranee heard Hay Lin's mental gasp of recognition in her head as Taranee attempted to voice her fears.

"Nerissa," she hissed at the old witch, trying to sound braver than she felt. The former keeper chuckled to herself before pushing Raythor aside and entering the cave.

"Yes, young Guardian, it is I," she said. "Good to see you've finally arrived. Now we can begin to work on our little project."

"What do you want with me?" Taranee asked, struggling against her ropes as Nerissa drew closer. She was only partially fighting, since she was also trying to clue Hay Lin in to every word the old bag said.

"I guess since you're not going anywhere I can tell you. I brought you here to fulfill a very old piece of magic. When the half moon passes in one week, I shall absorb all the power from you and your precious Auramere to replace what you stole from me. With the power of fire at my command, and the Guardians short one member, nothing can stop me from reclaiming the Heart from your leader."

"But why me?" Taranee pressed, eager for more information. "You could have taken any of the other Guardians, but why did you take me?"

"Because fire can be the strongest of the four elements when provoked, since nothing can stop it in its path. Also, you are a considerably weak link in the Guardian circle, and it was easiest to get to you. I would have chosen that pathetic excuse for an Air Guardian since she is by far the weakest, but I needed an element stronger that Air. Plus, this crystal cavern doubles the power of the element of fire, so I will be many times stronger once I acquire your powers." Taranee transmitted the plan to Hay Lin, not paying attention to the next part of Nerissa's speech.

_Make sure Will gets this,_ she told Hay Lin. _Now go before something bad happens._ Hay Lin was about to protest when Taranee's attention was tuned back in to the old witch.

"Since I have no need of you for the next week, I'll leave you in the hospitality of my minions. They've gotten quite bored here in the caverns, and this will give them something to do." The witch laughed again before exiting the small cave, leaving Taranee alone with Frost, Miranda, and Raythor. Taranee began to panic, once again struggling to get free. Hay Lin must have sensed her friend's anxiety, because she responded to the panic attack immediately.

_Taranee what's going on?_ She asked nervously, but Taranee couldn't respond. Frost had crept up behind her with his white hot whip in hand. He lashed out, striking the bare skin on her back over and over. With each kiss of the whip came a flash of pain, causing Taranee to cry out in agony. Enjoying their game, the rest of Nerissa's knights joined in, striking her legs and bare stomach with their knives and swords. Taranee couldn't handle the pain, but she knew she had to hold it back from her friend who remained in her head, catching bits and pieces of every blow. With the last of her sanity, she pushed Hay Lin away with a final scream that was laced with pain.

Irma was growing nervous with every passing second. It had been three minutes since they'd been pushed out of the link, and Hay Lin was still stuck. She just sat, gazing out into open space with a glazed over look in her wide eyes. Seeing her friend in a possessed trance made Irma feel both anxious and helpless.

"Will, isn't there something we can do to help her?" Irma asked the red head who was still on the floor, cradling a glowing Heart in her arms.

"I don't think so, Irma," Will replied, her voice heavy with the strain holding onto all that energy had caused. "Hay Lin was the only one who managed to hold onto the connection with Taranee. I'm afraid that if I try anything new, it might break her connection or hurt her, not help her."

"So we're just going to leave her there like a zombie on the floor?" Irma was amazed at her leader. "What happens if she doesn't wake up? Then we're two Guardians down and we still won't know where Taranee is. How does that help our cause?" Will didn't know how to respond to that outburst. Thankfully, Cornelia stepped in before she had to.

"Irma, you need to relax," she said, trying to console her friend. "Hay Lin will be fine. It's not like she's stuck in some random place in space. She's in Taranee's head. Taranee will make sure nothing happens to her." Irma wasn't sure if she heard worry or doubt in her friend's voice, but she decided it was nothing. Cornelia was making an attempt to be nice to her for once; she couldn't argue with what she was saying.

"I guess," was her murmured reply. "But I wish-" The last part of her sentence was cut off by a cry of pain from behind her. Both girls whipped around in time to see Hay Lin fall backwards onto the floor. Irma's heart stopped as she pushed herself up and knelt beside her friend.

"Hay Lin what's wrong?" she asked, but all she got were moans and cries in reply. Hay Lin started to move; her arms and legs thrashed at open air. She looked as if she was fighting an invisible bad guy that the others couldn't see. Tears were forming in the corners of her closed eyes. Something was scaring her, and Irma couldn't do anything about it.

"Will do something!" she shouted at the red head. Will looked stressed and panicked as she fumbled with the crystal Heart in her hands.

"I'm trying, but I don't know what to do!" Will was about ready to start crying, too, when suddenly Hay Lin sat bolt upright again. Her eyes flew open with a final cry, and suddenly her attack stopped. She just sat there with tears in her eyes, breathing heavily and looking around wildly. When she turned to look at Irma, the water Guardian saw fear and pain in her dark eyes. Suddenly, Hay Lin threw her arms around Irma and started to cry. Irma let out the breath she'd been holding the entire time. She was glad that her friend would be okay. Irma returned the hug, pulling the tiny girl even closer. She whispered soft encouragements into her friend's ear.

"Hay Lin are you okay? Tell us what happened." Will came up and placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder as she spoke. Hay Lin brushed away her tears and began to recall what had happened.

"I… I found Taranee, and we talked. She told me Vera had taken her from Shell Cave. She tried to describe where she was, but someone interrupted her. She started talking to them, and that's when things started going bad. Nerissa came in next and explained why she wanted Taranee. We were right; she does want Taranee's powers for herself. Then she left and Taranee started to panic. I asked her why, and all I got in reply were flashes of pain and anguish. Oh Will, they were hurting her, and hurting her bad. I got some of it, but she pushed me out." Hay Lin stopped for a moment, regaining the small bit of composure she had at the time.

"Did Nerissa say something about where they were?" Cornelia asked, edging closer to Caleb. Matt just sat back on the bed looking dumbfounded.

"Well, she said something about a crystal cave, and that the stones there would enhance Taranee's elemental powers, but nothing really specific. I… I can't remember anything else." Hay Lin finished speaking and burrowed further into Irma's arms. Across the room, Will was lost in thought. She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back.

"I wonder," she said, "If there are certain minerals and stones used to enhance elemental powers in Meridian. If there were…"

"…You'd need places to mine them," Cornelia said, finishing Will's thought.

"And if we could find where they mine the stones for fire…" Irma said.

"… Then we could find where they're keeping Taranee!" Hay Lin finished excitedly, all of her morose feelings gone.

"We need to ask Elyon if there are stones like that in Meridian. If there are, she'll know where to find them." Will stood up and held up the Heart, ready to open a portal for their transportation, but Irma and Cornelia stopped her.

"Will, can this wait until tomorrow?" the water Guardian asked. "We've all had a long day, and we need to rest. Who knows what we'll find on the other side when we get there."

"Yeah, and think about Hay Lin," Cornelia chimed in. "She's been to hell and back today, and just got hurt and scared from a vision in Taranee's head! She'll never be able to make the trip without passing out. She can barely stand as it is." As determined as she was to go, Will had to take her friend's arguments into consideration. Looking at Hay Lin, she saw Cornelia's point. The stubborn little Guardian looked weaker and frailer than Will had ever seen. At last, she sighed, and dropped the Heart, placing it back around her neck.

"You guys are right," she said. "We do need a rest. Tomorrow morning we'll all meet and go to Meridian. Hopefully Elyon will be able to help us."

"I'll ask my parents if you guys can spend the night here," Cornelia said, getting up and crossing the room. "That way we're all her and we can leave right away. And we're together if Taranee tries to contact us."

"We can't wait too long, Will," Hay Lin said, looking worried all over again. "There's only so much time we can spare. Nerissa is going to take Taranee's powers in a week."

Back on Meridian, Vera sat outside the cave as a wolf, guarding the entrance. She had specifically volunteered to be on sentry duty because she didn't want to watch the others have their fun. Behind her, she could hear their laughter mixed in with Taranee's screams. The sounds made her stomach churn, so she stared down at her wide paws and tried to ignore it. In her mind, Vera sincerely doubted herself. She couldn't help but think that what she did was wrong. Taranee had trusted her, and she'd broken that trust. It made he feel almost guilty.

In all her years growing up on the streets, Vera had never felt guilt. She'd stolen food and money just to survive, and not once did she ever think badly about it. She'd stolen those Aurameres from the council at Candracar, and it never bothered her. Now, when she'd kidnapped someone who'd put their trust in her, the feeling was eating her from the inside out. She started to regret her decision to help Nerissa, but shook the thought out of her head.

_Stop it! _She scolded herself mentally. _Nerissa took you in when no one else wanted you. She trained you and fed you and kept you safe. What did those Guardians do to you? They took your family away from you. They deserve everything they get for what they've done. Don't you think otherwise._ Lost in her thoughts, Vera didn't notice Nerissa until she was right behind her.

"Doing some serious thinking on the job, are we?" The former Keeper's voice made Vera jump and spring to her paws. When she saw her mistress standing there, she changed back into her human form.

"Yes, I was," Vera replied.

"About your job today?" Vera nodded in embarrassment. "Do not scorn yourself, child. You have performed well. The Guardians deserve it, do they not? After all, they were the ones who orphaned you." Vera's head snapped up at this comment.

"How did you know that?" she asked, now a touch suspicious.

"You cannot keep secrets from me child. I saw the memory in your head. And I was there that day, witnessing their murder first hand." Nerissa placed a wrinkled hand on Vera's shoulder. "You are doing the right thing. This will help your parents rest and get their revenge at last." The old witch turned and started back into the cave. "Now come. You are guarding our prisoner tonight." Vera took one last regretful look into the starry night before changing into a wolf and following her mistress inside.


	9. Chapter 9

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 9

It was two A.M. in the morning, and Hay Lin couldn't sleep.

She lay tossing and turning in her sleeping bag her parents had brought over for her. On one side of her, Will slept peacefully, her red hair drifting down into her face. Irma snored on her other side, one arm draped over her closed eyes. From the bed, she could hear Cornelia's soft breathing. Hay Lin sighed; it was a comfort to have her friends so close to her in light of what had recently happened. She scooted her body over so that her back was touching Irma's side. Hay Lin felt the rise and fall of her friend's chest, and she instantly felt safer. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, feeling her friend's warmth against her tiny body. Her relief only lasted a few seconds. Once Irma felt a presence against her she pushed it away with her free hand. Hay Lin was thrown sideways and almost landed on Will. Holding back her cry of surprise, Hay Lin caught herself and sat up. She glanced about the room. None of the other Guardians seemed to notice their friend's restlessness. Sighing, Hay Lin shed her blankets and walked out onto the balcony of Cornelia's room.

Outside was much less clam than it was in the dark room. Cars whizzed by below on the street, honking and revving their engines. Headlights and street lights illuminated the dark night. In the distance, she could see the lights on buildings and towers of the city. They flashed and danced like fireflies that never moved. The sky was dark, so dark that not even a single star shined in the night. Only the moon offered any alternate light source, even if it was only a thin sliver in the sky. Hay Lin closed her eyes and tried to tune into the sounds of the city. The wind brought her bits and pieces of faraway voices and conversations. Somewhere, a business woman was still wide awake, trying to sort out a problem in a transfer with another company. On the other side of town, a man and his wife were arguing over how he had arrived home late, drunk and high, while she had three children to care for on her own. Somewhere else, two teenagers were having an interesting, if disturbing, conversation in a small hotel room. Hay Lin pushed that one away; the sounds and phrases were starting to gross her out. As far as she could tell, nothing interesting was happening tonight, so Hay Lin gave up and let the breezes go.

Suddenly, a new gust of air brought the tiny Guardian a strange sound. This wind had an unearthly chill to it; it wasn't from anyplace Hay Lin knew of. She leaned out on the railing, fully focused on the noise. It sounded like soft crying; like the kind of crying you would try and hide from someone. The sobs sounded strangely familiar to Hay Lin. She couldn't quite place where she knew it from. She wracked her brain for any memory of the sound, sorting through years of voices. Suddenly, her mind was pulled back to the day in Candracar, where Hay Lin had last heard that soft voice. It had been louder then, echoing off the walls of an elemental chamber. Hay Lin's head snapped into focus. The voice she heard was Taranee's!

She pushed herself to listen harder, but she was interrupted by another soft voice calling her name, this time in reality. No matter how hard she struggled to hold on, the breeze escaped into the night, leaving behind the frustrated Air Guardian. Hay Lin turned around to see Will, her pajamas wrinkled and her hair a mess, in the doorway of the balcony.

"Will!" Hay Lin exclaimed in surprise. "How… I thought you all were still asleep."

"I'm a light sleeper," was the red head's reply. "You have to be when Nerissa plagues your nightmares." Hay Lin nodded. Her friend was referring to the times Nerissa had infiltrated her dreams and played tricks on her mind. It had been a rough time for the leader. "But what are you doing up, Hay? Is something wrong?"

"I was… just thinking, that's all." Hay Lin's reply was laced with worry, and Will instantly knew the cause.

"You were thinking about Taranee, weren't you?" Hay Lin nodded, crossing her arms across her almost flat chest. Will came over to the edge and placed an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"It's just… I can't help thinking that it's my fault Taranee's gone," Hay Lin told Will. "I said all those mean things to her and accused her after what she'd gone through. I mean, she was just looking for another friend she could trust with this. It's hard, keeping a secret that big from her parents and her brother. She was just… expanding her horizons. And I made her turn away from us so she would be vulnerable. I mean, I'm so upset about this I think I'm hearing her crying on the wind! Oh, what have I done?" Will could tell that the tiny girl was close to tears for the third time that day, so she gave Hay Lin a reassuring, one armed hug.

"No one blames you Hay Lin," the red head coaxed. "None of us would have done anything different if we were in that situation. If it's anyone's fault, it's Nerissa's. She's the bitch who started this whole mess. If you really want to blame someone that badly, look at all she's done to rip us apart, and then place the blame where it truly belongs." Hay Lin said nothing at first. Will's words echoed in her head, and once they sank in she began to look a whole lot better.

"Yeah," she said. "You're right. The next time we see Nerissa, remind me to kick her ass for all she's put us through." Will laughed, and Hay Lin couldn't help but join in. Once they stopped, Hay Lin gave her friend a big hug. "Thanks Will." The red head shrugged and giggled.

"Just call me the new Dr. Phil!" This sent both girls into even more giggles. "Now, let's go get some sleep," Will suggested after she calmed down. "We have a lot of work to do tomorrow." Hay Lin nodded and, taking Will's hand, walked back into the apartment bedroom. She felt exhausted, and was ready to lie down with one last look at the stars.

The next morning, all four girls woke early. They were ready to head out and start their search. They hurriedly threw on clothes, grabbed their things, and flew out the door. Cornelia was the most anxious to get to Meridian that morning. Any chance to see Elyon was alright with Cornelia. Ever since her best friend had succeeded Phobos and became the Queen of Meridian, she never had time to come visit. She lived on Meridian, now, away from her friends back home.

Irma, as perceptive as she was, picked up on Cornelia's anxiety and excitement as they turned down the road that led to the beach.

"Calm down, Corny," she said. "We're going to Meridian, not to the mall to catch the end of a half off shoe sale." This made Cornelia stop in the middle of the sidewalk and glare at the back of the water Guardian's head. Behind her, Hay Lin and Will were lost in a conversation and didn't see her stop. They collided with her back, and both girls fell on the ground. Hard.

"Come on Cornelia!" Hay Lin protested, picking herself up off the ground. "In case you've forgotten, we're sort of in a hurry, here!" Cornelia looked back at Hay Lin in shock, but said nothing and continued walking. As she passed Irma, she elbowed the brunette hard in the side and whispered "Don't call me Corny!" in her ear. Irma suppressed giggles as she followed the earth Guardian's lead onto the beach. Once she smelled the salty air, Irma quickened her pace until she was practically skipping down the shore. Her ears rang each time an oncoming wave crashed on the shoreline. The beach was her favorite place to spend time, besides her large bathtub at home. She felt safe here; safer than she ever was anywhere else.

"Come on guys! You're falling behind!" Irma teased her friends as she ran on ahead, her feet sinking in the soft yellow sand.

"Irma this is no time for-" Cornelia never got to finish her sentence, for Hay Lin and Will started racing down the dunes after Irma, laughing as they went. Cornelia sighed and shook her head. "Why do I stick around with you guys?" she mumbled to herself. She watched her friends for another minute before deciding to have some fun of her own. She used some of her powers to move the sand to her will. With a flick of her wrist, the sand tripped Irma, Hay Lin, and Will, and soon all three girls were falling down the side of a steep sand dune. They landed with a thud at the bottom, their knees and upper arms becoming buried in the sand. Cornelia willed the sand to hold them there, and started walking over to them. She smirked as she admired her handiwork. When she arrived, all of her friends were struggling to pull themselves out of her sand trap. When they noticed that she'd arrived, they all gave her similar good natured glares of malice.

"What?" was her only response. "I wasn't going to run after you and get all sweaty. Besides, I can't run in these shoes." Cornelia flexed her ankles to reveal the heeled sandals she was wearing.

"So Corny does have a fun side," Will said sarcastically.

"Yeah, too bad her selfish side came out in the end," Irma joked.

"Aww… I was beginning to like the fun Cornelia too," Hay Lin said with false disappointment.

"Ha ha, you're all real funny," Cornelia snapped. "Let's see you make jokes when your beach has you for a snack." Irma was about to shoot back a comment, but Will stopped her in her tracks.

"Okay, we've had our fun. Now let us up so we can go find Taranee." Cornelia reluctantly released her friends. The three girls dug themselves out of the sand, and soon the group was walking down the sandbar.

After a few more minutes they arrived at Shell Cave. The mouth of the cave towered several feet over their heads. Cornelia couldn't help but make a joke.

"Well, what do you know," she said. "We've found something that has a bigger mouth than Irma." The brunette whipped herself around and placed her hands on her hips.

"It may have a bigger mouth," she said, "But your ego still wins first place, Corny." Cornelia had no response, only an angry glare. They followed their friends inside, where Will and Hay Lin had already dropped their stuff.

"Okay, if we're all done teasing each other, let's go." The red head pulled out the Heart and soon, a glowing blue portal hummed in the air beside their heads.

"Um… don't we need to make copies of ourselves first?" Cornelia asked. She was careful not to say astral drops in fear that their fake Taranee would disappear.

"Great, just what we need. Another Cornelia." Irma's tone was laced with sarcasm. Cornelia grew frustrated, but she couldn't voice her anger.

"Today's trip is for research purposes only," Will informed the group. "We won't be gone long enough for our parents to worry. The all think we're at Cornelia's, and Cornelia's parents think we've gone shopping. So we're pretty much covered." With that, she jumped through the portal with hay Lin at her heels. Cornelia pushed Irma out of her way and jumped in, leaving the water Guardian stunned. Irma shrugged off the gesture and made her own way in. On the other side, greetings had already started without her. Elyon and Will were wrapped up in a hug, and on either side hay Lin and Cornelia were looking cheerful. When Elyon saw Irma cross through, her eyes lit up all over again.

"Irma!" she cried, throwing her arms around the girl's neck. Irma returned the hug, happy to see her friend again.

"It's good to see you all again!" Elyon exclaimed once they were all seated in her bedroom. "But what are you doing here, and… where's Taranee?" The cheerful atmosphere died almost instantly as the Guardians fell back into their depression.

"Actually, that's why we're here, Elyon," Will said when no one else could say it. "Taranee's been kidnapped by Nerissa." Elyon let out a gasp of horror at the news.

"Oh my gosh what happened?" she asked, sounding flustered and nervous. Will began to tell the Queen what had happened since her last visit to Earth. She started with Vera's arrival in Heatherfield and relayed everything that happened next, right up to Hay Lin's painful conversation with Taranee in the cave. Elyon just sat and listened throughout the entire story. When Will finished speaking, her pale eyes were wide with shock.

"What do we do now?" was all she could say at the end.

"Actually, Ely, that's where you come in," Cornelia said. "When Hay Lin was linked to Taranee, she heard something about a cavern where the crystals could emphasize Taranee's powers. We need to know if there are any stones like that in Meridian."

"Well, I think so," Elyon replied. "There are many types of minerals that influence magic. In fact, I think there's one for each of your elemental powers." The Guardians' eyes lit up at the news. There was actually some hope.

"Do you know where they mine the stones for enhancing fire?" Hay Lin asked eagerly. Elyon shook her head.

"I would need to search the maps in the library to find their locations, but that could take a long time."

"That's okay," Will said. "We have until the end of the Earth day to look them up."

"Well in that case, follow me and we'll go right now." Elyon got up from her seat on the bed and left the room with the Guardians following her lead. She led them down a spiral staircase and through many long hallways before stopping at a heavily decorated door. Pushing it open, Elyon revealed a room that was filled with books and documents. The ceiling was a good twenty feet high, and there were dozens of shelves.

"Wow," Irma said as the Guardians stared in awe. "This room puts Taranee's book collection to shame, and gloats about it, too."

"We're looking for maps," Elyon told them. "Trading maps. In there should be a map of all the stone mines in Meridian."

"Look for a couple papers in this place?" Cornelia asked in shock. "That's going to take weeks, not hours!"

"Just look, Cornelia!" Hay Lin snapped. She started moving the air in the room to bring down dozens of books at a time. Her eyes scanned every cover and page with a fiery determination Will had never seen before. The rest of the group began to search manually, sorting through immense stacks of books.

After an hour of searching and coming up empty handed, things were starting to look pretty bleak. Hay Lin had run out of power shortly after starting and was lying on an armchair looking tired. The rest had sore arms and hands from tireless sorting. Soon, all except for Irma were lying on the floor in exhaustion. They were giving up on hope when Irma cried out from around a corner.

"Oof- this thing is heavy!" she complained as she walked out, struggling with a folder that was bigger than she was. On the front, covered in dust, was a label that read "Trading Maps". Elyon squealed with delight.

"Irma you found it!" she cried, helping the girl set it on the floor. She began to leaf through several large sheets of paper, mumbling the names to herself. At last, she pulled out a document labeled "Energy Crystals" and dropped the file. She spread the map out on the floor and all the girls gathered eagerly around it.

"This is a map that shows all the mines we have for the crystals," Elyon explained. "This small flame symbolizes where the mines for fire crystals were located." Elyon pointed to a small icon on the page. After looking at it for several seconds, Elyon sighed in despair. "There are eight different mines for fire. It'll take forever for you guys to find her."

"How are we going to check eight different mines in six days, Will?" Hay Lin asked anxiously.

"I guess we'll have to split up and search different mines at the same time," the red head said. "One Guardian will check a cave, but if they find danger, they won't engage without the others."

"But that will still take a long time," Irma pointed out. "There are four of us to check eight caves that are all hundreds of miles apart. It'll take us a long time to check one, let alone two each. And then there's the time it'll take to get back here and tell what we found."

"Well, maybe we can get some more help," Hay Lin said. "Matt and Caleb could each check a cave, and then whoever's fastest can go to the last two caves."

"And I can be here to monitor who comes and goes, and who's found something versus who hasn't," Elyon suggested, twirling one of her straw colored braids in her fingers.

"See? Problem solved," Will said, getting up from the floor. "Now let's get back home. It's probably getting late back on Earth, and are parents will start to worry soon." The other Guardians nodded and got up, but Hay Lin fell behind on the way out. She was thinking about Taranee, and how much longer her friend could hold out while she was stuck. She willed herself to think positively, but considering the work needed in only six days, the chances looked pretty bleak.

**Well there you have it. Chapter nine for all of you people who've been following my story so closely. Looks like the Guardians still have a long way to go before they can rescue Taranee.**

**Chapter ten may take a little longer to get here, because I'm having some dilemmas with the plot line. I have to explain Vera's need for revenge in the next chapter, but I have no idea how to explain her reasons. If any of you have any suggestions as to what happened to her family, feel free to tell me about them in the review column, and chapter ten may come even faster. So please hit the review button and tell me what you think**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi people!!! Here's chapter 10. Sorry it took so long to get this up. I'm currently working on another Fanfiction for my best friend, and IT's been taking up a lot of my time. Before I start, I wanna say thanks to Lexvan and Yellow14 for their suggestions and reviews. And now on with the story!!!**

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 10

The cave was silent. Nothing could be heard except for the wind whistling through the many tunnels. At the far end of one of these tunnels, Taranee was still tied to the cavern ceiling. Her body was bleeding slowly from where yesterday's wounds had been reopened. Her glasses were broken and her head throbbed painfully. Her breathing was slow and shaky, for every breath she took sent pain throughout her chest. Her left knee was bent at an unnatural angle, duly throbbing with pain, and Taranee could tell that it was definitely broken. One brown eye was swollen to the point of closing.

Taranee was trying not to let any of the pain phase her. She focused all of her energy into keeping her breathing steady and balanced. _In and out, in and out,_ she thought, trying to keep herself calm. Nerissa's knights hadn't been gentle in the least with their punishments. Taranee remembered every sting and cut with absolute distinction. The mere memory of them made her wince and every injury throb.

_You need to stay calm,_ she thought, pushing the cruel thoughts away. _Try and find something that can help your friends rescue you, or do something else productive. Do anything except for sitting here like a little kid. _Her little pep talk sparked the tiniest bit of courage in Taranee. She slowly opened her good eye and peered around her holdings.

The cave was empty; the knights seemed to have retired for the night. Silence echoed off of the cold stone walls. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a grey shape, so she forcefully turned her head to look at it. Her muscles screamed in pain, but she ignored it and turned anyway. She saw Vera, curled up on the floor as a grey wolf. Anger and confusion bubbled up, numbing all the pain she felt. She also felt small bits of pity for the girl. There had to be some reason Vera would betray her for Nerissa.

Using a lot of the strength she had left, Taranee pushed out towards Vera's mind with hers. She hoped to get in without Vera noticing so she could find some small detail. She pushed out ever so slightly, but that was too much. Vera sensed a foreign presence in her mind, and she lifted up her head to look. Her eyes settled on Taranee, and she snarled menacingly.

_What do you want?_ She hissed in her head.

_I just want to know why you would do this to me,_ Taranee told her. _I trusted you, Vera. I told you everything, and you betrayed me. _

_I was very convincing, wasn't I? _Vera quipped, giving a wolfy smile.

_If you're talking about the way you lied your way into my life so you could kidnap me, then yes._

_Oh get over it. I fooled you, and it was easy to do. All I had to do was put on a false smile and fake sympathy and you melted at my touch. You're so gullible, Taranee, and you're weak._

_You're the one who's weak!_ Taranee was growing frustrated. _You let Nerissa walk all over you because you're too weak and afraid to go against her._

_Nerissa's helped me more than anyone else! I owe her everything._

_If you believe that, then you're no better than that low-life Miranda._ Vera growled and jumped to her feet, fur bristling in fury. She placed her massive paws on Taranee's chest and pushed her muzzle up close to Taranee's face. Taranee grew slightly nervous, but she didn't show it.

_Do NOT compare me to that incompetent bug! _Vera growled. _You have no idea what I've gone through my entire life, and Nerissa changed it all for the better. Miranda's nothing but a slave. I'm Nerissa's favorite; she trusts me with everything._

_She trusts you to do all her dirty work so she can take all the glory for herself._ Taranee pressed her point even further, hoping for some answers. _What did the Guardians ever do to you to make you join this evil witch?_

_Cut the crap. You know very well what you did to me. _Vera gave another snarl before placing her two front paws back on the ground.

_No I don't. If you just tell me why you're doing this, maybe I can help you._

_I don't want your help! I want to see you all dead!_ Vera's mental voice shook with a mixture of anger and pain. _You Guardians killed my home, my parents, my entire life! You left me an orphan on the streets! You forced me into a life of stealing just to barely stay alive! I was almost dead when Nerissa found me. She offered me a home, and a way to get revenge for my family. I have no compassion for any of you, only hatred._ Taranee didn't understand at all. Vera was suggesting that she and her friends had committed murder. That couldn't be possible! Will had ensured that, even with their enemies, the Guardians never did more than injure a single person. And that wasn't even on purpose. Thankfully, she found a way to straighten out this mess; Vera's defenses over her mind had fallen during their argument. She silently slipped in and found a heavy memory laced with pain. She felt Vera's emotions as a house caught fire. She saw two people running out of the house with a child of ten at their side. The couple stopped, their path cut off by a thick stream of water. Their faces contorted into similar paintings of fear as the ground opened up and swallowed them whole. Taranee was shocked; she'd just witnessed the death of Vera's parents. Following the memory further, she saw a quick glimpse of what looked like her and her friends pass by. Taranee almost believed that they had actually killed Vera's parents. Then she got another feeling, one she had come across many times before when helping Will with her dreams. It was the faint tingle of magic; Vera's memory had been tampered with!

_Vera that's not true!_ She tried to tell the other girl. _The Guardians didn't kill your parents! Nerissa just wants you to think that. She changed your memory into what she wants you to believe! It was her who killed them; her or Phobos. The Guardians would never hurt anyone who was innocent. I swear, I'll let you read my memories if you don't believe me! _Vera was shaking her wolf's head back and forth furiously, as if trying to shake Taranee's words away.

_Shut up!_ Her mental voice shook, she sounded close to tears. _Shut up and get out of my head!_ With that, Vera bounded away, out of the cavern and as far away from Taranee as she could get_. _The Fire Guardian sighed, exhausted from her efforts. She had to find a way to convince Vera of the truth. Maybe then she could get out of here and save her friends the trouble of a rescue.

Hay Lin was growing desperate. Six of the eight mines had already been checked, with no results. Taranee hadn't been in any of them. The tiny Air Guardian was worried about her friend. They were running out of days. Only two Meridian days remained until the half moon, and then it would be too late for Taranee.

Hay Lin shook the painful thoughts from her head. They would find her. They would save her from what Nerissa had planned. They had to.

Hay Lin zipped gracefully over the treetops, her mind wandering. She must be getting close to the cave. She hummed one of her favorite songs under her breath, trying unsuccessfully to calm her nerves. Below her, nothing stirred in the wide expanse of green. Hay Lin was growing bored from the lack of excitement, when the wind carried her a strange sound. She paused in midair, eager to hear more. It sounded like crying, loud, relentless crying from directly below her. Hay Lin grew excited; maybe whoever was crying could lead her to Taranee. She turned and dived down into the forest. Settling in one of the branches, Hay Lin spotted the sobbing figure. She recognized the green hair and black clothes from that day in the park. Anger sparked inside the tiny girl as she stared down at Taranee's kidnapper.

Calling on a nearby gust of wind, Hay Lin sent it out towards Vera. Vera didn't know what hit her until it had knocked her into a tree. The wind held her there, her back pressing into the gnarled bark. Hay Lin floated down from her perch and landed right in front of her captive. Vera was a mess; her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were tear-stained. Hay Lin had no room to be sympathetic for her enemy, however.

"Where is she?" Hay Lin snarled, pushing Vera even harder into the tree with her magic. Vera winced, struggling to get out of the wind.

"This isn't a good idea for you," she said. "As soon as I call, Nerissa will send the rest of her knights out to help me, and then you'll be sorry."

"Go ahead and try. See if she'll hear you before I pull all the air out of your lungs." Vera suddenly closed her mouth, content to be silent. "I'll ask you nicely one more time: where is Taranee?"

"Why would I tell you?" Vera spat. Hay Lin's anger kept growing; she was at the end of her fuse.

"Because I'm not in a mood to play around, and if you don't I'll make you wish you'd never met her." Hay Lin's hands were starting to shake from her fury.

"How about instead I don't tell you where she is and tell you how much she's endured so far?" Vera snapped, sensing a change in the Guardian's atmosphere. She was growing unstable, and that could play to Vera's advantage. "She's been through hell these last few days. My friends back home aren't very gentle. You should see the cold, empty look her eyes have now. She can't last the pain much longer, and she's all but lost hope that her precious friends will come to save her. It's almost too easy to break her, she's such a-" Vera never finished her sentence, for her taunts had snapped Hay Lin's last sane nerve.

"SHUT UP!" The Air Guardian screamed, using the wind to hurl Vera towards the next tree over. Her eyes were brimming over with tears that blinded her along with her fury. She heard Vera hit the trunk with a cry. The shapeshifter had barely picked herself up off the ground when Hay Lin came rushing towards her, fists up. She punched Vera square in the jaw, releasing some of her spare anger. Vera cursed under her breath as she brushed her fingers across her mouth and brought them back stained with blood.

_Damn,_ she thought, _how can someone so small be so strong?_ She was ready for Hay Lin's next blow, catching the tiny Guardian's fist in midair and pushing her away. While Hay Lin regained her balance, Vera shifted into a wildcat to gain an advantage. Snarling, she pounced. Hay Lin screamed as Vera's claws dug deep into her stomach, catching one or two of her ribs on its way. She doubled over, clutching her injury. It burned insanely, but she couldn't stop yet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vera spring again, but this time she was ready. As Vera's body neared her, Hay Lin shot out a gust of wind that blew the wildcat into a tree. This time, Vera crumpled to the ground. She shifted back into a human as she lost consciousness. Hay Lin stood over her, breathing heavily. She was exhausted from using all that power without an Auramere, but she couldn't rest yet.

Wincing and moaning, Hay Lin managed to tie Vera's hands behind her back. When she stood up, she saw a large hill in the distance. At the base of that hill was an opening. Hay Lin smiled; that had to be where Taranee was, or Vera wouldn't have been so close. Hay Lin pushed off of the ground and flew back to where she'd left the fold, trying to ignore the pressing pain and fuzziness she felt in her head.

Irma paced back and forth in Elyon's room at the palace. Hay Lin had left several hours ago to check the last mine, and in her absence the rest of the group had returned. Matt and Caleb both reported that no one was in their caves, and Will and Cornelia both had the same results. Now it was getting dark, and Hay Lin still hadn't arrived. The water Guardian grew nervous as she watched the sun sink down below the horizon.

"Where is she?" Irma said, finally voicing her mind. "She should be back by now."

"Stop worrying Irma," Will coaxed. "Hay Lin's probably fine."

"Right. And I'm probably going to get an A on my next Algebra test."

"Just relax Irma," Cornelia said. "Hay Lin probably found where they're holding Taranee and is waiting to see if she can hear some useful information."

"Or Nerissa's knights found her before she could and we're sitting around doing nothing about it!" Irma was growing tense; not even jokes could lighten her mood.

"Don't think that way!" Elyon scolded. "Hay Lin can turn invisible. It's highly unlikely that the knights found her. Cornelia's option sounds like the best idea."

"Now there's a first," Irma quipped under her breath. Cornelia scowled, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You know, I am entitled to have a good idea now and then, Irma," she snapped.

"I know. It just comes as a shock every time." Cornelia opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off when Will cried out.

"Someone's coming through the fold!" she shouted. Irma turned just in time to see Hay Lin tumble through and collapse on the floor. Irma felt calm again, until she saw the huge open wound on her friend's stomach. Panicking, she knelt on the ground beside her friend and cradled her in her arms.

"Hay Lin what happened?" Will asked frantically. The tiny Air Guardian opened her eyes ever so slightly and looked up at her leader.

"Found…Vera and… got into a fight… Taranee… she's at the…" Her words trailed off as she slipped out of consciousness. Her head fell limp and her entire body sagged.

"Hay Lin!" Irma cried, fear crawling up her spine.

"Elyon, get a doctor!" Will shouted. The Queen nodded and rushed out of the room. Will pulled out the glowing pink Heart and held it over Hay Lin's body. The room glowed a soft pink for a moment and then the light died. Will put the Heart back around her neck and sighed.

"Did you help her?" Irma asked frantically.

"I think some, but not completely," was her leader's reply. When she saw Irma's look of protest, she started to explain. "I saved her from any immediate danger. Now she needs a doctor to help that wound heal." As if on cue, Elyon rushed back into the room, a doctor following close at her heels. Irma sighed a breath of relief; the doctor was here, and he would help Hay Lin. Her best friend was going to be alright.

**Please review!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

Of Fiends and Fire Chapter 11

It was late into the night when Nerissa finally sent someone to go looking for Vera. She'd finally noticed that her favorite hadn't returned to her post, so she sent Miranda to find her. _Honestly, _Miranda thought as she walked through the trees,_ I personally couldn't care less if the bitch never came back. But if Nerissa wants it, then I have to do it._ The spider girl scowled as she glanced back and forth throughout the forest. As much as she hated Vera for knocking her down from her high horse, her loyalty to Nerissa came first.

Miranda continued to stumble through the dark forest, tripping over tree roots and rocks. She cursed under her breath as she stubbed her toe on a particularly large stone.

"Why do forests always get so damn dark at night?" Miranda shouted out loud to no one in particular. "You get lost, and you can't see anything that's not an inch away from your- woah!!" Her rant was cut short as she tripped over something large. She hit the ground hard; dark stars danced in her vision. Whatever it was that tripped her squirmed beneath her legs and grumbled in discomfort.

"Watch where you're going, bug!" A familiar voice called. Miranda's eyes adjusted to the darkness around her, and she saw two telltale green eyes glowing in the darkness. Miranda smirked, pushing herself into a sitting position.

"Well well, what do we have here?" she mocked. "An unwanted package left on our doorstep. We'll have to send this right back, seeing as there's been a mistake." Vera's green eyes flashed like flint.

"Very funny. Now untie me." Vera struggled against her bonds behind her back, growing slightly agitated.

"I don't know, this is rather funny. How did you get like this anyway?"

"I came out here to think, and the Air Guardian jumped me." Miranda scoffed, amazed and amused.

"That tiny little pixie did this to you?" Miranda laughed out loud, not believing her own voice. "And I suppose she's the one who gave you all these bruises, too?"

"You'd be surprised at what she can do when she's vexed." Vera's cheeks flushed red from embarrassment. Miranda kept on laughing. "I'm not kidding! She can hold a lot of power in that tiny body of hers. But she didn't go unhurt either. I made sure of that."

"Yeah. I can see you handled it very well."

"Just untie me."

"No, I don't think I will."

"Miranda!"

"What? Not feeling so tough when you're all alone and can't move?"

"Wait until Nerissa finds out you planned to leave her favorite out here to die."

"Alright. But I'm only doing this because I have to, not because I want to."

"Fine with me. It doesn't feel any better from my perspective either."

When Hay Lin woke up, she felt like her entire world was swimming in circles. Her vision was foggy, her head pounded against her skull, and her entire body ached. Around her, she could hear voices talking and calling to her. It took her a few seconds, but she could pick out bits and pieces of what they were saying.

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" asked a familiar voice that Hay Lin remembered as Irma.

"Her injuries were substantially dangerous," pointed out another voice Hay Lin didn't know. "The claw marks on her stomach were deep and nearly cut into her organs. On top of that, she had two broken ribs. Without treatment, the bones probably would have punctured something and her condition would have become much more fatal."

"Why do doctors never speak in plain English?" Irma asked someone else.

"He means, Irma, that if Will hadn't helped her, she probably would have died from internal bleeding before he could get here." Hay Lin recognized Cornelia's calm, authoritative voice.

"But she will be okay, right?" Irma pleaded. "She will wake up soon?"

"I'm afraid that she may not be awake again until tomorrow, and that's at the earliest," the doctor informed her. Irma gave a squeal of protest, so the doctor continued. "She completely exhausted herself from her efforts on the fight, and she is so worn out from carrying herself back here that her body needs more time to recuperate from the damage. She will be fine. It just requires some more time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get more medicine for when she awakes." Hay Lin heard footsteps grow softer as he left the room. There was a loud bang that followed, as well as a string of curses.

"Irma, beating up furniture won't help her at all," Cornelia scolded. So that was what the bang was. Irma must have kicked something to release her anger.

"She won't wake up for another day, Cornelia! What happens now? In another day, the half moon will be up and it'll be too late for Taranee. What if Hay Lin doesn't wake up in time? We can't take down Nerissa with only three Guardians! We might lose the entire team! I can't take losing all of my friends at once, I just can't!" Hay Lin felt her eyes well up with tears. She wanted to call out to her best friend, to console her, to tell her that everything would be alright. But she barely managed to moan Irma's name when her body slumped and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Irma whipped her head around to where Hay Lin lay on the bed. She heard her best friend whisper "Irma" before she passed out again. Irma raced over to the bedside and clutched her friends hand in hers.

"I'm here, Hay," she whispered to the unconscious girl. "I'm right here." Her friend's hand felt scalding hot to the touch, and when Irma placed her hand on Hay Lin's forehead, she could have sworn she got burned. Calling on her powers, Irma filled a nearby bucket with the coldest water she could get, dipped a rag in it, and placed that rag over her friend's forehead. Irma sighed, trying to relax her body. She had to stay calm, for being anxious wouldn't help either situation.

Irma didn't hear Will or Elyon enter until her leader cleared her throat loudly.

"Irma, are you alright?" the red head asked sympathetically.

"As good as I'll ever be," Irma replied. "Whatcha need, Will?"

"I came to ask Cornelia to come with me and talk strategy for tomorrow. Elyon wanted to come be with you and Hay Lin when she wakes up."

"Well, you'll be waiting for a while," Cornelia said. "The doctor says she might not wake up until tomorrow."

"That's fine with me," Elyon said. "I don't mind waiting." Will nodded and left the room. Cornelia stood and followed her, leaving Elyon and Irma alone with Hay Lin. Irma sighed and sat herself down on the chair previously occupied by Cornelia. She rested her head in her hands and just slumped, feeling useless. She couldn't do anything to help her injured sister. She couldn't do anything about Taranee. She felt like she couldn't do anything at all. Uselessness was an uncomfortable feeling for Irma. She was so used to always having something to do, someone to cheer up. But who was there to cheer up the happy one when that person was sad?

Elyon seemed to senses that her friend was upset. She placed a comforting hand on Irma's shoulder and smiled down at the water Guardian.

"Cheer up, Irma," she said. "Hay Lin will be perfectly fine. Everything will be back to normal soon. You'll see." Irma looked up at Elyon with a new sense of hope. She was thankful for her friend's kind words of encouragement. Irma smiled and was content to sit beside Elyon in soft silence.

In her dreams, Hay Lin was floating, barely conscious, in a wide expanse of darkness. Nothing but silence gave her company in the emptiness. She began to panic, thrashing around as if fighting an unknown enemy. She tried to call out for help, but her voice wouldn't work. Tears flooded her eyes as she got the frightening sensation of falling, deep into the nothing and never stopping.

Then she felt a pull on the back of her mind. Something or someone was trying to get her attention. Hay Lin snapped out of her fear and focused on the source of the tugging. It was a feeling she recognized, being dragged into someone's mind countless times. She almost screamed with joy when her subconscious arrived.

_Taranee!_ She called out mentally. The mind around her snapped awake, startled by the sudden intruder. Taranee struggled against throbbing pain to recognize the voice, and after a few moments she became somewhat excited.

_Hay Lin?_ She asked in shock. _How… how did you…?_

_I don't know,_ Hay Lin informed her._ One minute I'm laying injured on a bed in Elyon's palace, and the next thing I know, I'm talking to you._

_Injured? What happened to you?_ Taranee sounded upset.

_I got into a little fight with Vera. But you should have seen her._

_I did. She came back around midnight last night, covered in bruises. I assumed she'd ticked Miranda off. You mean you did all that damage to her?_

_Um… yes?_

_Wow, Hay Lin! When you want something, you don't let down easily, do you?_

_Not when one of my friends is hanging in the balance._ Hay Lin stopped, for at that moment Taranee grimaced from pain. _What's wrong, Taranee?_

_Nothing,_ Taranee said, her voice shaking. _Let's just say that Nerissa's friends aren't very gentle with guests._

_Oh god, what did they do to you? _Hay Lin grew anxious for her friend.

_A lot of things, I just… don't want to scare you._

_Oh… don't worry, Taranee. We know where you are now, and as soon as I wake up, I'll bring the girls and we'll get you out. Just hang on a little longer._

_I don't know if I can… Oh god, Hay Lin you have to leave, now!_ Taranee struggled to push Hay Lin away, but didn't have the strength.

_What's wrong? _Hay Lin asked frantically, frightened by her friend's warning. But Taranee never answered. Then Hay Lin felt intense pain coming from her back. It felt as though someone was trying to pull her wings off. The she was hit with a scary realization; the pain wasn't hers, it was Taranee's! Hay Lin finally understood what her friend had gone through these last five days. She felt every ounce of pain Taranee was going through, but to a less brutal extent. Her friend was trying to shelter some of the pain from her, and it was costing her dearly. But that didn't stop Hay Lin from feeling every ounce of force behind the punches, every sting and cut, and every bout of dizziness. She pushed herself away, hoping to save Taranee from the strain of sheltering her mind. The last thing she heard was Taranee's unearthly screams as she faded back into the blackness.

Back at the palace, Irma was awakened abruptly from a nap by Hay Lin's cries. She'd been up all night with Elyon at her friend's side, and just as she was starting to get an ounce of rest, this happened. Her head whipped around towards the bed, where hay Lin was having some sort of bizarre fit. Her back was arched, and her whole body was thrashing around madly. Irma felt scared as Elyon rushed to Hay Lin's side.

"Come help me!" the Queen ordered Irma, grabbing one of Hay Lin's arms. "We have to calm her down before she hurts herself!" Irma nodded, her head now focused. She grabbed Hay Lin's other arm and tried to help Elyon hold her to the bed. That didn't help much. Her legs still churned at open air, and her head thrashed back and forth. Irma leaned down and whispered reassuring words into the tiny Guardian's ear, trying to reassure her that she was perfectly fine.

Eventually, Hay Lin stopped moving. Her fits ceased and her eyes shot open, wide and scared. She slowly sat up and peered around hesitantly, her entire body quivering. When her eyes rested on Irma, she cried out and threw herself into the water Guardian's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh my god, Irma!" she said through sobs. "Taranee's in so much pain! They're hurting her, and she can't stop it! We have to go and help her!" The tiny Air Guardian tried to push herself off the bed, but stopped and hissed in pain when her movements were limited by her injuries.

"Slow down, Hay," Irma said softly, holding her friend back. "You need to sit still. We will help Taranee. You just rest and as soon as you're ready we can go kick some bad guy butt."

"But… but we can't wait. How long have I been out?" Irma looked down at the ground.

"Almost two days, Hay," she replied. Hay Lin's jaw dropped.

"But that means that we're too late. Nerissa's going to steal her powers tonight!"

"That's why we have to work fast," Will said, entering the room. Cornelia, Caleb, and Matt followed close at her heels, and soon the room was awfully crowded. "Glad to see you're awake, Hay Lin, but I can't really stop to be sympathetic right now. Are you feeling okay?"

"A little sore, but yeah."

"Good, because once again I have to ask too much of you guys. Cornelia and I have a plan for rescuing Taranee, but it's going to take everyone here, including you, Hay Lin."

"Don't worry about me," the tiny Guardian reassured firmly. "All I care about is getting Taranee back before they hurt here anymore."

"Great." Hay Lin raised an eyebrow at her leader's hasty reply, but said nothing. "So here's what's going to happen. We're going to go in fast and hard. Do whatever you have to to get in. Once we're inside, Caleb and Matt will create as big of a diversion as they can. Whoever has a shot at Taranee or Nerissa takes it and goes for it."

"No offense, Red, but that's not much of a plan," Irma pointed out.

"Well do you have a better idea?" Cornelia snapped. Irma shut her mouth and shook her head. "Didn't think so."

"Nerissa and her Knights always seem to be ready for us whenever we have a plan," Will continued, now that her interruption was over. "So if we just sort of wing it, then they won't ever see it coming."

"Sound's logical, but will it work?" Elyon asked, seating herself on the floor.

"Honestly, I don't know," was Will's answer. Cornelia's jaw dropped to the floor.

"You don't know?" she said meekly. "You don't know if it will work? God, you must have more air in your head than Irma does!" Irma muttered a protest, but Cornelia continued. "We're risking our lives on a plan that you all of the sudden threw together and you're not even sure that it will work? This is crazy! This is suicide! This is totally stupid!" She crossed her arms across her chest and gave Will her famous stare down.

"You told me you agreed with it!" Will insisted.

"That's because I assumed you knew what we were getting into! Now that I know you're flying us into battle on nothing but an idea, you can count me out of this one!"

"Come on Cornelia. It's not like we have much of a choice," Hay Lin protested. "The knights will have planned for any form of secret attack we could think to throw at them. This way, we catch them off guard and have the element of surprise. It's the only way we can do this."

"I guess, but I'd like to have a little more of a plan when I go in there."

"Well that's not a privilege we have right now Corny," Irma cut in. Cornelia sighed, and slumped into the open chair.

"Fine," she said, "But stop calling me Corny." Irma smiled, glad that she'd won that battle.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's go save our friend." Hay Lin pushed herself off the bed with great difficulty and shook as she got to her feet. Will instantly went to her side and forced her back down.

"Oh no!" the red head said. "You need to rest. We'll leave when you can hold yourself up."

But we don't have time for that, Will!" Hay Lin protested, smacking away her leader's hand. "Look, while I was unconscious I visited Taranee again. She can't take then pain anymore; she'll die if we leave her there any longer. I'm the only one who knows where the mine is, so I have to go. We can't wait; Nerissa's going to take her powers today!"

**CLIFFHANGER!!!!! Heres chapter 11. I'm goin kinda fast cuz I feel like I neglected this story in order to start the other one. So it's time to give w.i.t.c.h. a little t.l.c. before I continue with harry potter. Please review!!!**


	12. Chapter 12

Of Fiends and Fire Chapter 12

Taranee was woken from her brief lapse of sleep by a sharp slap to the face. She winced and clenched her teeth together as the fingers brushed over her now swollen shut eye. There was no way she would let this person hear her scream out because of a little pain. Then she heard Raythor's recognizable voice enter the chamber.

"Time to wake up, Princess," he said with a smug tone. "You don't want to be late for your special ceremony tonight now do you?" Taranee heard him laugh mercilessly; she gritted her teeth in defiance. She refused to respond to anything he said to her. He didn't seem to care whether he got a response or not. There was a pause of silence, and Taranee forced one eye open slowly, and gasped at what she saw. Raythor stood above her with his sword raised above his head, preparing to swing. Her heart rate sped up to about four hundred times the norm. Taranee turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut. She was braced to feel pain, but instead she felt…

…nothing. There was a burst of air and a soft shink as the sword made contact with something soft. Taranee felt a bizarre weightlessness before her body hit the floor with a thud. She winced upon impact; she hadn't been expecting that to happen. Opening her eye, Taranee saw the frayed end of the rope that had once bound her to the ceiling. That's when it made sense; Raythor had simply cut the ropes and left her hands tied. Taranee let out a silent breath as her guard cut through the rope on the floor, leaving her ankle's bound as well. He motioned to an invisible body in the corner and pointed at her. Frost appeared out of nowhere, his face just as smug as Raythor's. He grabbed Taranee by the waist and hoisted her over his massive shoulders like she was nothing. Taranee cried out as he bumped her broken wing, not bothering to hide her pain. Frost grunted in satisfaction and followed Raythor down a narrow cavern. Taranee focused on watching the walls pass by in a blur of brown and grey. After a while, she noticed that the colors kept growing brighter and lighter. Soon, she could spot bits of reds, oranges, and yellows clumped together in crystal shapes. Taranee stared, mesmerized by the swirling flamelike patterns.

"What are they?" she asked quietly, not realizing that she'd spoken out loud. Raythor grunted and turned to look at her, his eyes staring deep into her's.

"Why do you care?" he asked rudely. "S'not like you'll be around long enough to appreciate them, anyways." With that said, he turned and kept walking.

"Consider it a dying wish," Taranee mumbled, not caring whether he heard her or not. That's when the reality of how soon she would die hit her hard, like a brick to the face. She tried not to let her increased breathing or rapid heartbeat betray her fear. Her mind worked furiously to come up with a plan for escape. But even if she could defeat all the guards, she wouldn't make it very far on a twisted knee and a broken wing. There had to be some other way to get out of this mess. Maybe she could try and reach the girls. Taranee brushed that suggestion away; with Nerissa so close by, all of her messages would be blocked. The poor Guardian was deadlocked; there was no possible way she could make it out on her own with no one here to help her. But…..

Taranee's spirits lifted once more. Perhaps there was a way out of here. Over the past few days, she'd noticed that whenever Vera was near her, the girl's loyalty always faltered. Maybe, just maybe, Taranee could change her memory and show her the truth before it was too late.

She was about to try out her theory when Frost dropped her on the cave floor. She hit the stone hard, the impact jarring the breath out of her. She cried out in pain as she landed on her broken wing. The pain numbed her mind for a brief moment, making her unable to think clearly. Then the mental fog cleared when someone spoke out with an old, familiar voice.

"Be careful, Frost," said Nerissa in her cold, empty voice. "If she dies now all our hard work will have been for nothing. I'm surprised that the shock of you breaking her wing didn't kill her." The old hag walked into view, smiling smugly. She looked down on Taranee with cold triumph in her eyes. "I am sorry my dear. My friends don't know how… delicate… we Guardians can be under pressure." Taranee could hear the sarcasm in the witch's voice, and she wasn't going to take any of it lying down.

"If I wasn't so injured and my hands were free, I'd show you just how 'delicate' I am," Taranee spat back, feeling her hatred for the old woman flare up and replace her fear.

"Of course you would," Nerissa quipped. "And that is exactly why you are here, my child. Once your powers are mine, the rest of your friends will be too weak to resist me. I will finally get my revenge on them who imprisoned me so long ago." Nerissa turned to her knights and pointed to the floor by Taranee's feet. "Get the stone circle ready. The half moon is almost at its highest!" Frost, Raythor and Miranda jumped into action with a newfound sense of urgency. Each of them held a handful of the colorful stones Taranee had seen in the tunnel. Taranee watched them in confusion as they laid the jewels out in a wide circle around her. They stopped with only a few feet left to go. Nerissa smirked and stepped into the circle beside Taranee. She turned to the shadows across the cavern.

"Would you like to say anything to our guest before the circle is closed, Vera?" The green eyed girl stepped out of her hiding place and looked Taranee straight in the eyes. At first she said nothing, staring ahead with eyes that reflected conflicting emotions. Then her expression hardened and she looked away.

"It's about time you got what you deserved," Vera said before turning around to face the wall.

"Very well, then close the circle, Miranda." The spider girl nodded and placed the final two stones on the ground. Taranee was beginning to panic. She was running out of time. If she was going to try anything, she had to do it now. Taranee was just beginning to push herself into Vera's mind as Nerissa pulled out a glowing orange orb from under her robe and moved it close to her.

Hay Lin was struggling to keep herself in the air. Every inch she moved sent a jolt of white hot pain throughout her chest. But no matter how sore she was, she kept moving forward. While she'd been in bed recovering, night had fallen over Meridian, and the half moon had risen high in the sky. They were running out of time. If they didn't get to Taranee soon, it would be too late to save their friend. Thinking about the urgency of the situation was all that kept Hay Lin going.

After a while, Will seemed to notice that her friend was struggling. She flew over until she was beside the tiny air Guardian.

"How much farther is it, Hay Lin?" the red head asked.

"Not much-ow-further," Hay Lin replied, wincing and clutching her side as she spoke. Will reached out and draped the small girl's arm over her shoulder, supporting her as they flew. Behind them, the other two Guardians as well as Matt and Caleb let them have their space.

"Hay Lin, are you sure you can do this?" Will asked, her worry leaking through in her words. Hay Lin looked up at her leader with a burning determination.

"Yes Will," she snapped. "I can do this. I will do this. Taranee is in more danger than I am right now, and I'm not about to give up on her because I'm a little sore." Hay Lin shrugged Will away and dived down into the trees below. Will and the rest of the gang followed suit, landing gently beside their friend on the grassy forest floor. Just a few yards away was the mouth of the cave Hay Lin had glimpsed earlier. There was a strange orange light emitting from it; something was definitely going on inside. Will turned to the group gathered behind her.

"Everyone is clear on how we're going to do this, right?" she asked, her voice hard with determination.

"Yup. We go in, and each focus on a different target," Matt answered.

"And whoever gets the first clear shot at helping Taranee takes it," Irma finished. Will sighed; at least they were all prepared for what needed to happen. She was about to give further directions when a sudden scream echoed from the nearby cave. The noise resounded off of every tree and rock, chilling the group of teens down to their bones. The scream sounded young and feminine, and each teen had the same thought on the top of their mind. Leaping up from the ground, Will led her friends into the wide mouth of the cave. Together, they followed the twists and turns of the tunnels until they came to a wide, open cavern. When they arrived, Hay Lin stopped short, surprised by what she saw in front of her.

It wasn't Taranee that they'd heard scream; it was Vera.

The green haired girl was curled up on the floor, grasping each side of her head with her hands. Her face was contorted in pain, and bright tears sat in the corners of her clenched shut eyes. All around her, the rest of Nerissa's knights watched in horror as she convulsed on the ground. They were all too startled to make a move, and none of them noticed the newcomers in the room. Hay Lin took advantage of their momentary distraction to scan the room for Taranee. Her eyes stopped on the far side of the cave, and what she saw made her gasp in horror. The other girls heard her gasp and followed her gaze with similar looks upon their faces. Taranee was lying on the floor in a small circle made of bright orange stones. Nerissa stood above her, but the witch's gaze was directed towards Vera on the floor. The fire Guardian looked to be in a terrible condition. One of her brown eyes was swollen tightly shut, painfully red. Her left leg was bent out at an awkward angle, and her wing hung limply from her shoulder. Her body was patterned with scars and big purple bruises. An especially large, infected wound on her stomach had reopened and was leaking blood and pus all over the floor.

Hay Lin was so appalled that she could barely control her emotions. Anger, horror, and fear were all fighting for control over her tiny body, and she was having such a hard time reining them in that she was shaking. Forgetting all of her own pain, Hay Lin flew straight into the center of the cave and took the first shot of battle. She sent a strong blast of wind hurtling straight into Frost's face. The giant went flying backwards into the cavern wall, his impact sending vibrations throughout the room. That was what first alerted Taranee to the presence of her friends. The injured Guardian looked up with slight hope in her eyes that mixed with the pain and worry. Then her focus was reverted back to Vera on the floor. Nerissa, however, had followed Taranee's gaze and seen the teen army waiting at the mouth of the tunnel. Her surprised expression turned into a gnarled scowl, and she pointed at the girls with a long finger.

"Knights," she ordered, "Get rid of them!" At her command, Raythor, Miranda, Frost, and Crimson sprang into action. Miranda shifted into her spider form, her body now covered in thick black hair. She shot a thick web at Hay Lin that pinned the tiny girl to the nearby wall. Irma flew forward to help, but Frost sent Crimson to block her path. The giant beast threw Irma up with his horns, and she landed roughly on his back. He began to run in circles around the small cavern. Irma clung on to his thick neck for her life as Crimson threw himself madly around. Her eyes grew wide and she couldn't do anything but hold on tight.

"Cornelia, go help Irma and Hay Lin!" Will ordered. "Matt and Caleb, get Frost out of the way. I'll get Raythor!" With that, the red headed Guardian threw herself at the tall, lanky knight. Matt and Caleb charged across the room, Matt in his regiment form and Caleb with his long sword. They both started attacking Frost, who had just barely recovered from Hay Lin's surprise wind.

Cornelia's job was no easy task. Crimson wouldn't sit still, and Irma's constant shouting was only egging him on even more. The blonde Guardian grew more frustrated by the second. Having a short temper at times like this was not the best thing. Finally, Cornelia lost it and went with her back up plan. She brought up old roots and vines that had become buried in the soil under the cave floor. The plans weren't at all happy to be moved; they'd been there for so long that any other position felt unnatural to them. Cornelia, however, was in no mood to pity them. She forced them up with every ounce of her powers. The plants broke through the surface and wound themselves around Crimson's legs. The beast was forced to a dead stop, sending Irma flying forward off of his back. The water Guardian barely had time to register a cry of surprise before she hit the cave wall. Hard. She moaned upon impact and sank to the floor unconscious.

_Whoops, _Cornelia thought as she finished securing the vines that held Crimson down.

_Be careful, Cornelia! _ Hay Lin shouted from where she was still held fast to the wall. Miranda was nowhere to be seen. Cornelia flew over to the helpless girl and tried to help her out of her sticky prison. No matter how much Cornelia pulled and cut the heavy webbing, it wouldn't come loose. The blonde tried until she couldn't feel her arms anymore. She paused, catching her breath.

_It's no use, Hay Lin,_ she told the tiny Guardian in despair. _This web isn't going to come off any time soon. _Hay Lin didn't seem to be listening. Her dark eyes were focused on something behind her friend.

_Behind you, Cornelia! _ She shouted just seconds before Cornelia was hit from behind. Soon, she was stuck to the wall beside Hay Lin with the same sticky substance. Miranda crawled up the wall beside her, and from the strange glitter in her eyes Hay Lin assumed she was pleased with herself.

"Three down, three to go," the spider girl laughed in her cold, chilling voice.

Across the room, Will was having just as much luck as the rest of the Guardians. Raythor had dodged all of her attacks, frustrating her enough to get her on the ground. Then suddenly, she'd wound up on the floor, Raythor's sword at the back of her neck. Frost had made quick work of Matt and Caleb. Even as disoriented as he was, the giant man was still a formidable enemy. In only a matter of minutes both Caleb and Matt were passed out at his feet. Caleb had a substantial injury on his right shoulder which was bleeding profusely. Will looked up at Taranee nervously, knowing the gravity on their situation. Nerissa laughed, obviously satisfied that the Guardians had been thwarted in their efforts to save Taranee.

"Foolish girls," she said, "Did you really think that you could stop me? The Oracle wasn't very wise in his choice of Guardians. Soon, all of your friend's powers will be mine, and then I will be truly unbeatable!" She returned her gaze back to Taranee, whose focus had just returned to the room. Vera lay unmoving on the far side of the cave, and Taranee could only hope that she'd done her job right. Nerissa leaned in and pressed the glowing orange Auramere to Taranee's chest, right above where her heart was beating rapidly, and placed in inside of her.

It felt as though something had exploded inside Taranee's heart. The heat was extreme, even for her standards, and burned its way through her veins. Soon, her entire body felt as though it was covered in white hot flame. Taranee's chest constricted from the heat, making her gasp for breath. Her eyes widened and she struggled on the floor, as if trying to escape from the intense power she had coursing through her. Taranee cried out as the heat turned into a sharp pain that only got worse. She became deaf to the rest of the world. Soon, she couldn't handle the pressure any more. She screamed even louder, begging somebody, anybody, to make the pain stop.

Then she felt an odd sensation; the pain slowly ebbed away. It went first back to being heat, and then even that started to fade. Taranee began to relax some, her breath becoming normal. But then whoever was alleviating her pain didn't stop. She grew weaker and weaker. It felt like someone was pulling all of the life out of her body. She tried to move, call out, do something to prevent this from happening, but she couldn't make any part of her body work. All she could do was lay there as more and more of her slipped away.

Suddenly, Taranee fell to the ground. She stopped moving, she stopped breathing, and her heart was getting slower by the second. Her eyes closed as suddenly it stopped and all of her had been pulled out of the body she left behind.

Across the room, Vera was slowly staring to come to. Her head was throbbing and her vision was blurry. All she could remember was feeling someone inside of her head before the pain started. Slowly opening her eyes, Vera took in her surroundings. The cave was quiet; all around her the other Guardians had been subdued. One was unconscious, the one called Irma, along with two boys Vera didn't recognize. The others were struggling to get up, crying and calling out at the top of their lungs. Vera turned to follow their distraught gazes and gasped.

Inside of the small stone circle she'd watched her supposed allies build, Taranee was lying on the floor. Her eyes were closed and her sides weren't moving, which told Vera that she wasn't breathing. Vera began to panic; she hadn't expected things to get this far. That's when she saw the woman standing over Taranee's unmoving body. A long strand of what looked like orange magic was flowing into her hands. Vera's eyes widened as she recognized the wrinkled face and merciless expression.

Her mind began to work in overdrive, trying to place that face in more than one memory. Her thoughts were pulled back to the night her parents were killed. She watched in horror as the same woman stood over her mother and father. Lightning buzzed throughout the air, lighting the grass around her on fire. Nerissa's laughter echoed as though she was standing in a canyon. Vera's eyes brimmed with tears as she watched her parents struggle and scream on the ground, tossing up clumps of earth with their twitching bodies. Soon enough they stopped moving altogether, their lifeless eyes staring up into space. Vera fell to her knees in her memory, crying hard and screaming over their corpses. Then, Nerissa pointed a long gnarled finger at her, and a flash of pain brought her crashing back to the present.

She remembered why her mind wanted so hard to recognize that face when she first saw it. Not only was it the face of her former employer, it was the face of her parents' murderer. Her eyes were filled to overflowing with crystal tears as she wallowed in her thoughts. She'd actually helped the person that had killed her parents by betraying a friend.

_Taranee was right,_ Vera thought in despair. _Nerissa really did change my memory. She killed my parents._ Vera gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes shut as she tried to prevent herself from breaking down and crying out loud. Her hands clenched into tight fists as her tears began to drop on the floor.

_Oh God, what have I done?_

**Sorry this chapter took so long! I was busy with drama club and finals. But here it is at long last! I'm so glad to be done with this chapter. Read and review!**


	13. Chapter 13

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 13

When Irma came to, her head felt like someone had used it to break open rocks. Her eyes fluttered open slowly. She sat up, rubbing the back of her skull with one hand. She felt a large bump forming under her hair, and the area was sore to the touch. Wincing, she looked around the cave, wondering what she'd missed while unconscious. Her turquoise eyes stopped when she saw Taranee's body lying on the cold stone floor, not moving. Irma's heart skipped a beat; they were too late.

_No, _she thought as tears filled her eyes. _No, this can't be happening! It just can't! _Around her, she noticed that the other Guardians were crying as well. Hay Lin and Cornelia were stuck to the wall, crying and struggling desperately to free themselves. Will was in no better shape. Though she'd managed to get Raythor off of her, she was having trouble getting anywhere near Taranee. The rest of Nerissa's knights, as well as the old bag herself, were blocking the path. Even from where she sat, Irma could see the anger in her leader's eyes, hidden by the pain, sadness and tears, as the redhead took out Nerissa's knights one by one. That's when Irma's mind began to work, realizing something she only just noticed.

If everyone else was focused on Will, then no one would be watching her.

The Water Guardian got slowly to her feet, praying that no one would just happen to turn their head. Her eyes were locked on her enemies, watching for the slightest lapse in their focus on the redhead. She crept across the cave, hugging the wall with every step. Soon, she was right behind Nerissa, just outside the strange stone circle.

On the other side of the cave, Will was on her own. Nerissa's knights lay scattered across the stone floor, either unconscious or unable to move. There was no one left standing between her and her friend's murderer. Will sent a bolt of white hot lightning at Nerissa. She forced all of her fury and pain into the charge. Nerissa blocked it with a wall of flame. The old witch smiled, pleased that the transaction had gone so well. She tested her new powers again, this time encircling Will in a ring of fire. Caught off guard by the heat, the redhead stumbled, falling backwards onto the ground. All around her, the fire seemed to grow arms. The flaming tendrils got longer until they joined above her head, forming a burning cage. The old witch laughed at the desperation in the Keeper's eyes.

"Just as I thought," she hissed. "The Guardians are helpless against me now. Without your fifth member, you're just a bunch of pathetic little girls playing dress up. I have more power now than even you can comprehend. There is nothing you can do to stop me from having my revenge!" The old witch extended a wrinkled hand, small flames dancing at her finger tips. She turned to the cavern wall, where Hay Lin and Cornelia were still held fast. "And I think I'll start by eradicating Yan Lin's granddaughter." Hay Lin let out a small squeal of fear and struggled even more. Nerissa smirked; just as she was about to send her fire at the tiny girl, something cold and wet hit her from behind. It doused her flames; steam rose from her hand. The force of the blast sent her sprawling onto the floor. Spitting out water, the old witch looked back at the source of her attack. She snarled when she saw Irma standing there, tossing a small stream of water from one hand to another.

"New plan," the brunette said in her smart mouthed tone. "How about I start by kicking your ass, and you stay the hell away from my friends? I like the sound of that one much better." Nerissa scowled and stood.

"Foolish girl," she spat. "Do you really think I'm going to be stopped by one puny teenage girl?" She sent another burst of flame out at Irma, but this time the brunette was prepared. Her tiny water stream turned into a much larger wall of water. The flames hit the wall and did nothing but fizzle and sputter out. Irma dropped her wall, clearly satisfied.

"This 'puny teenage girl' happens to have control over water," Irma retorted, "Which, in my experience, doesn't do so hot with fire." Irma threw a jet of water in Nerissa's direction, totally drenching the old witch. She looked up at where Hay Lin was stuck to the wall.

"She looks a little hot," Irma quipped lightheartedly. "Why don't you cool her down a little, Hay Lin?" The tiny Guardian nodded and blew a gust of wind straight at Nerissa. The cold air caused the water around the witch to freeze, encasing her in a tomb of ice. Irma came forward to examine their handiwork. Once she was satisfied, she leaned against the pillar of ice and smirked at her friends.

"What would you guys do without me?" she asked sarcastically. Cornelia, however, wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Oh just get us out of here would you?" she snapped, but deep down even she was proud of the brunette. Irma smiled and turned to Will. She doused her leader's cage with a quick stream of water, soaking the redhead in the process. The drenched Will had no sooner stood up from the ground when her brown eyes widened.

"Irma! Behind you!" Will shouted. Irma whipped her head around in time to see Nerissa's hand shoot forward as it grabbed her by the throat. Irma hadn't really thought about that fact that, though water can kill fire, its cousin ice never stood a chance. Panicking, Irma grabbed Nerissa's wrist and tried to pull her hand away. Though the witch was old, Taranee's powers had unearthed some of her old strength. The brunette was powerless as Nerissa's fingers tightened around her neck. The witch's eyes burned like flames, her mouth set in a hard line and her brows furrowed. Gasping for air, Irma stared deep into those eyes.

"Not so sharp-tongued now, are we?" Nerissa asked angrily. "Maybe I should teach you to watch your mouth!"

Irma felt Nerissa's hand grow hot against her neck. He squirmed as it grew hotter and hotter, until the pain was too much to bear. Tears fell from her eyes as her lungs ran out of air and the skin on her neck burned. Irma wanted to scream, but she didn't have the oxygen to voice words. She just stared into those fiery eyes as pain overtook every part of her body.

Then something large struck Nerissa from the side, bowling her over. Taken by surprise, the witch released her hold on Irma's neck, and the Guardian fell to the floor. Air rushed back into her lungs; the sudden rise of oxygen cause her to choke and gag. The pain in her neck dulled to a low, throbbing heat, but when Irma tried to touch it, the skin felt raw. That would leave a nasty scar later. Brushing tears away, she turned to look at whatever had saved her. She gasped in shock, only to find that gasping hurt as well. Across the cave, Will and the other Guardians were just as shocked.

Standing on top of their enemy, one paw holding each hand to the ground, was a large grey wolf with green eyes that burned with anger and pain.

Nerissa looked up in shock at her former henchman. Vera was trembling with anger, her lips curled up to expose glistening white fangs. Nerissa could see the deep hatred and betrayal hidden in those two deep pools of emerald.

"Vera!" she hissed in surprise. Since she knew the girl couldn't speak when in this form, she added mentally, _What is the meaning of this?_

_You liar. _Vera's reply was laced with poison. _ I trusted you. I trusted you and you betrayed me. All those times you told me it was the Guardians I should be mad at, but you were the real criminal. You killed my parents! You tricked me! _ Nerissa was growing nervous; how had Vera's mind eliminated her spell? Then she remembered how Taranee had sat perfectly still during the ritual, focused on something over her shoulder. That had been about the time Vera had gone into her seizure. The Guardian must have gotten rid of her spell before she died.

_Vera, listen to me!_ Nerissa barked at the young girl. _The Guardians have tricked you! I helped you! I took you in! You must obey me! Attack them! _ Vera snarled, silencing the old woman.

_I no longer take orders from you, _she growled in Nerissa's face. Vera lifted her head and turned to look at Will, ears perked and tail raised proudly. _ I follow someone whose intentions are worth following. _Hindered be her inability to speak aloud, Vera could only hope that Will could see the apologetic look in her eyes. The redhead looked back with confusion at first, but then understanding filled her big brown eyes. She smiled and nodded; Vera felt her entire body flush with relief.

Vera heard a sudden loud crackling sound, and turned just in time to get hit full in the chest by a ball of lightning. The girl yelped as she was taken by surprise, blown backwards off the old woman. She tumbled across the floor, coming to a stop in a sore heap of limbs on the ground. Fighting against the pain in her body, Vera leapt to her feet snarling. Nerissa stood as well, lightning and fire dancing from her hands.

"Very well," she cried. "You have chosen your fate. Follow the Guardians, but that path shall only lead to your destruction beside theirs!" Lightning shot out of Nerissa's hands, dancing in every available spot around Vera. The wolf girl dodged every blast with surprising agility, but she didn't know how long it would last before she got hit.

"Vera! Over here!" someone cried from across the cave. Vera turned for a split second, catching a glimpse of Will and Irma against the cavern wall. Will was forming some sort of pink energy wall around her and her friends, including the two still stuck to the wall. Sensing opportunity, Vera swerved from her path, making a sharp beeline for the Guardians. It seemed like it took forever to reach the area of safety, but it was only a matter of seconds before she collapsed behind the barrier. Lightning crashed into the pink surface of the wall and was deflected in every which direction. Vera morphed back into a human form and lay there panting, eager for more than the few seconds rest she would be allowed. She looked up at Will, who was struggling to hold up her wall, and started to apologize.

"Will, I'm sorry for everything I did!" she cried. "I never should have trusted her! I-." Her sentence was cut short.

"No time for that now!" Will shouted in a tired voice. "You can apologize later! Now we need to focus on getting Taranee back and getting out of here alive."

"I think I know how to do that," Vera said, eager to make up for her wrongs.

"Good. Explain. But first, help Irma figure out how to free Cornelia and Hay Lin." Vera turned to the wall. The brunette was furiously pulling at the sticky webbing that held her friends there. Vera gently nudged her aside.

"Let me try," she said quietly, still unsure of Irma's acceptance. Vera changed her hand into a reptilian looking claw and turned to Hay Lin. "I need you to stay still, so I don't accidentally hurt you." Vera looked at the ground as she spoke, unable to meet the tiny girl's eyes. Last time they'd met, both girls had left their mark on the other, and Vera guessed Hay Lin wasn't about to forget that. Vera set out to work, cutting through the webbing with her claws as she explained the plan to Will.

"Like all of the old spells," she said, "This one comes with a fail-safe. If the spell were to go wrong, you could instantly reverse the effects and everything would go back to normal. All we have to do is get Nerissa back into the circle and touch some part of Taranee's body. Even the slightest brush of skin on skin will trigger the fail-safe, and Taranee will get all her powers back." Vera felt satisfaction as the webbing holding Hay Lin fell to the floor, freeing the Guardian. Moving on to the next, she listened for Will's sign of approval.

"How do we get her Auramere back out, though?" The leader asked, her voice even more strained. Vera frowned and paused in her work.

"I don't know," she murmured. "That's not an official part of the spell. The fail-safe won't cover that."

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there," Hay Lin said. "At least she'll be alive when she gets her powers back, right?" She looked a Vera with a pleading gaze, one Vera couldn't bear to return.

"That's the theory," she said simply as the second set of webbing fell, and Cornelia dropped to the ground.

"Well it's the only plan we've got, so let's go with it," Will said, now in full leader mode. "When I drop this shield, everyone split up. We've got to chase her back into the stone circle. Once she's inside, the rest of us will distract her while Vera gets close enough to make her touch Taranee. Got it?" The group nodded. Vera shifted back into a wolf, hackles raised and claws out.

Once Will dropped the shield, everything was a blur for Vera. They all rushed forward in a blaze of green and violet. Lightning whizzed through the air past her ear as she ran. She was trying to keep the witch's eyes on her for a moment until the Guardians could arrange themselves. Dodging lightning bolts and streaks of flame, Vera grew ever closer to Nerissa. Suddenly, Vera doubled back as lightning came straight for her. She turned to run, but one of her paws caught empty air and she fell, panicking. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain upon impact, but it never came. Opening her eyes, Vera saw a large wall of rock protecting her from the lightning. Cornelia shouted at her form across the room.

"Don't just sit there!" the blonde ordered. "Run, dog girl!" Vera was instantly on her four and running, headed straight for the other side of the stone circle. She nodded her head in thanks at the Earth Guardian as she passed by, never once faltering again. Once she was behind the circle, she stopped and waited. The Guardians were sending attack after attack at the old witch. One step later she was inside the circle. Vera knew what she had to do. She crept silently to Nerissa's side, staying just below the witch's line of sight. Timing her attack just right, she jumped at the old witch, knocking her onto the cold stone floor. Vera watched and waited as Nerissa's fingertips lightly touched Taranee's lifeless side.

That's when the fail-safe kicked in. A bright orange light filled the room, reflecting off of the bright stones in the wall. Nerissa screamed in agony as a long tendril of orange magic flowed from her hand into Taranee's chest, where it previously escaped from. Taranee's eyes shot open, and she gasped as air surged back into her once empty lungs. Both bodies twitched and struggled as the magic drained out of Nerissa and into Taranee.

After a while, both lay still. Thankfully Taranee was breathing again, even if it was labored. The Guardians flew over and landed at their friend's side. Vera could see the joy in their eyes when they saw her sides moving up and down. Will reached out to pick her up, but drew her hand back sharply.

"Her skin is burning up!" the redhead cried in disbelief.

"That's because her Auramere is still inside of her," Vera explained, now a human once again. "Its power is causing her body to overheat."

"I'll carry her," Hay Lin said, conjuring up a cushion of wind beneath their injured friend. Taranee floated up off the ground. Will turned towards the tunnel that lead out of the cave.

"Let's get her back to Candracar," she said. "Maybe the Oracle can do something for her there." The rest of the Guardians nodded in consent, and Will turned to Vera. "You could come, too," she said gently. "The Oracle could help you find a place to live, somewhere you'll be treated well for your help." Vera opened her mouth to respond, but a glimmer of light in the corner of her eye distracted her. She turned her head sharply to see Nerissa fire another lightning bolt at Hay Lin. The old witch's eyes burned with fury that couldn't be forced into words. Hay Lin stared open-mouthed at the oncoming attack, fear freezing her to her place. Vera acted upon instinct, and jumped between the girl and the oncoming blast.

The lightning hit her with an immense amount of force. The white hot pain raced down every part of her body. Vera dropped to the floor, screaming and writhing in agony. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear, she couldn't even think. All she felt was pain, pain that hurt so bed she actually wanted to die, because maybe it would stop hurting if she stopped living. Her green eyes filled with tears as the pain reached its climax; she never imagined something could hurt so bad.

Suddenly, the pain stopped short. Vera's breathing slowed and her body went limp. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was a pale hand reaching out to grab her gently.

**Looks like Vera had a change of heart! Sorry for the late chapter. Had other things to do. Please enjoy and review!**


	14. Chapter 14

Of Fiends and Fire Chapter 14

It seemed like only seconds later that Vera woke up screaming, the sound of lightning resounding in her ears. She shot straight up in her bed and opened her eyes. Her breath came in quick pants that slowed once she realized she was in no danger. The room was small, with large white walls that made it seem bright and dull at the same time. The only way Vera knew that she wasn't alone it what appeared to be an empty room was a small, light hand on her shoulder. Vera whipped her head around only to come face to face with…

Hay Lin.

The very last person she expected to see.

Confused, Vera jumped back, not sure if she was dreaming, dead, or being set up. Her body ached with pain that had been roused from her sudden move, and she winced quietly. Hay Lin raised her hands in a peaceful gesture and spoke gently.

"Vera," she said, "It's okay. You're safe now. I'm not going to hurt you." Still not reassured, Vera kept her distance from the tiny Guardian.

"Where are we?" she asked. "How did I get here?"

"You're in Candracar," Hay Lin told her. "After you got hit, Will trapped Nerissa in the cave and folded us all here. The Oracle healed you and sent you down here to… rest."

"What about Taranee?" Vera asked impatiently. "Is she alright?" Hay Lin nodded, scooting over a couple of inches closer to Vera. The shape shifter let her, now slightly more relaxed about the current situation.

"The Oracle managed to remove her Auramere from inside her," Hay Lin explained. "She should be back to normal in a few days, with rest. And speaking of rest, you should be laying down. You got hit by lightning, not just simply shocked by sticking your finger in an outlet." Not quite getting the joke, Vera allowed the tiny girl to coax her back into a laying position.

"You don't have to stay here with me, you know," Vera told Hay Lin. "I'm probably just going to fall asleep again, and who knows when I'll wake up? I feel like I could sleep for a month!" Hay Lin giggled before replying.

"I want to," she said cheerfully. "I thought you could use some company." Vera was confused. Something about the way Hay Lin spoke to her wasn't right. She shouldn't be this comfortable around her already.

"Do you want to, or do you have to?" Vera asked, hoping for a sincere answer. Hay Lin's smile faded and she stared at her feet, nervously looking for the right way to answer that question.

"A little of both," she murmured, barely loud enough for Vera to hear. Vera could tell the tiny girl was embarrassed to tell her this. She rolled back over and stared at the ceiling.

"I figured as much," she said. "I mean, I'm a criminal. I kidnapped a Guardian, for crying out loud! I can't blame them for wanting to keep me locked up." Hay Lin looked up, surprise shining in her dark eyes.

"No! That's not it at all!" she cried. "The only reason you're being watched is so that the Oracle can tell if your intentions really have changed. That way, he can show the Council that you never had control over your actions, and you'll be let off." Vera was surprised; after everything she had done, the Oracle of Candracar was fighting for her innocence? She wanted to think it over, but Hay Lin wasn't done talking yet.

"I also wanted to stay down here with you," she said. Vera was shocked. She propped herself up on one arm and looked up at Hay Lin.

"Why?" Vera asked, her voice leaking sincere shock and confusion. "You wanted to be with me after everything I did to you? I turned you best friend away from you guys, kidnap her, and later cut your freaking stomach open!" She pointed at the three red lines across Hay Lin's abdomen, that were only just beginning to heal. "How can you even look at me after all that?"

"Because you changed," was Hay Lin's simple reply. "Back in that cave, Nerissa nearly killed Irma and I was powerless to stop it. I almost had to watch another one of my friends die. But you saved her simply because of a change of heart. You helped rescue us all, you brought Taranee back to life, and….." Hay Lin's eyes were welling up with tears. "And you saved my life. You could've been killed by that lightning, but you stood in front of it anyway. You risked your life to save mine." She placed her tiny hand over Vera's and smiled through the tears. "If that doesn't prove that you've changed, that you're really a good person, then nothing will." Vera was crying now, too. After everything she'd done, Hay Lin thought she deserved to be forgiven. Vera was trembling, different emotions raging through her brain. She couldn't handle it anymore. She sat up, shaking and fighting back sobs, and looked Hay Lin in the eyes. She'd been afraid to do that up until now, because she was afraid of what she would see. Now, she saw sincerity, respect, and small glints of admiration shining in the tiny Guardian's dark eyes.

"I'm really sorry," she said softly, her voice shaking, "For everything I did. For every time I hurt you and your friends. For all the things I thought just because of one false memory. For every moment I sat back and watched while Taranee got hurt and never did a damn thing. For not realizing that I ought to be feeling guilty about this. For not-." Hay Lin cut her off by pressing one finger over her lips. Vera stopped, unable to control her tears any longer.

"Enough apologizing," Hay Lin said gently. "I forgive you." Vera was so uncontrollably happy. She threw her arms around the tiny girl's neck and hugged her tight, sobbing into her shoulder. Hay Lin hugged her back. They both sat there, hugging and crying, neither one wanting to let go.

Hay Lin was happy because she'd finally gotten over her feud with Vera.

Vera was happy because she had gotten the one thing she wanted most.

Forgiveness from the one person she thought could never forgive her.

A few hours later, Hay Lin led Vera down a never ending hallway towards where the Council would be meeting. They had to decide what would happen to Vera now that this whole ordeal was over with. The poor, green-haired girl was shaking from nervousness; she knew she deserved to be punished for what she did. She just hoped her punishment wouldn't be so bad.

As they approached the end of the hall, Vera stopped and turned to Hay Lin.

"I don't think I can do this," she told Hay Lin anxiously. The tiny Guardian took her by the shoulders and smiled reassuringly.

"Yes you can," she said. "Just say to them exactly what you said to me back there."

"But what if it doesn't convince them?"

"Then cry if you think that'll help, but I'm sure they'll listen to whatever you say. Plus you've got me and the rest of the Guardian's backing you up. We saw what you did in the cave; the Council didn't."

"Okay," Vera said with a nervous sigh. "Just promise me I can talk to Taranee after this is all over." Hay Lin smiled and nodded.

"Of course you can," she said. "Now let's go." Vera took a deep, shaky breath as Hay Lin pushed open the doors to the Council's hall. She grew even more nervous as every single set of eyes in the room turned to look at her, and there were a lot. Her face grew flushed and she didn't budge, standing awkwardly in the doorway. Hay Lin took her hand in hers and squeezed it gently, pulling Vera out onto the floor. She had no choice but to follow. Will, Cornelia, and Irma were already standing out in the center of the room. All three gave her warm smiles as she approached. Vera smiled back uneasily, all the while scanning the room for Taranee. When she couldn't find the missing Guardian, Vera assumed that her injuries were too extensive to come. _Another thing I'm going to be blamed for, _she thought grimly to herself. She swallowed hard and looked up at The Oracle, who was sitting quietly and ready to start. When he caught her eye, he smiled and drifted down to stand in front of her.

"Welcome, dear child," he said. His voice was warm and calm as he spoke. "I have heard many things about you, both noble and troubling. Do you know why you've been called here?"

"B-because you need to decide how to punish me," she said, her voice trembling. The Oracle laughed quietly.

"My dear," he said, "I'm trying to avoid punishment at all costs. The Council must first decide whether they think you have truly changed for the better first." Will came forward at his comment, addressing everyone in the room.

"Please, Oracle, hear me out," she started. "While Vera did do some pretty….bad things, what happened at the cave should balance out her good with her bad. She helped us defeat Nerissa and brought Taranee back to life. She risked her own life to save Taranee's, Irma's, and Hay Lin's."

"Actually," Cornelia cut in, "If Vera hadn't acted when she did, Nerissa would have killed Will and me, too, eventually. We all owe her our lives."

"See this?" Irma asked, pointing to a now faded scar on her neck. "Nerissa held me there, strangling me and burning me to death at the same time. If Vera hadn't knocked her over, I wouldn't be standing here right now. And we all know what a disappointment that would be." Irma smirked, and Vera could've sworn she heard several members of the Council groan in disappointment.

"Vera has changed, Oracle," Will said. "You know that. And I beg the Council to see it that way, too." A buzz of murmurs and uncertainty erupted from the Council. Clearly they weren't convinced. One member, a tall man with a thick white beard, stood to voice all of their opinions.

"While her efforts were most admirable," he said, "We must also look at the destruction she left behind her. She stole two of the Aurameres from their chamber here, one of which is still en route. She kidnapped a Guardian of the Veil with the intent of turning her over to Nerissa even though she knew she would die. She injured a member of your party when you attempted to send a rescuer. In short, she betrayed Meridian and Candracar to Nerissa, and she knows it." His words hit Vera like a truck. There was no way the Council would listen to her now. He'd made sure that everyone of her bad deeds was exploited before the Council. Vera hung her head in defeat, about to start crying again, when Hay Lin cut in.

"She can't be blamed for those things," the tiny Guardian cried, every inch of her body enforcing her words. "Nerissa altered her memories until she had total control. Vera had nowhere else to turn but to Nerissa. The bitch twisted Vera's thoughts until she actually believed we were responsible for killing her parents. She wasn't acting in her own right mind; it was altered!"

"In short, we plead insanity!" Irma quipped, cracking another joke. Will flashed her a 'shut up' look as the man began speaking again.

"While that is true, she had all the power to refuse those orders," he said. "She was never once forced to perform those tasks. She could have left at anytime, yet she chose to remain." Irma, who'd been in a light-hearted mood not seconds ago, went ballistic.

"What is wrong with you?" she shouted, taking the entire Council by surprise. "If it were you in her shoes, your parents dead, thinking the people who everyone says are supposed to help killed them, would you turn down help if someone offered it to you? Nerissa looked like her only choice. If it was me, and she'd offered me revenge, I would take it, because that's just how I am. That's just how Vera is, how we all are. We're all human! This girl has been put through all kinds if hell in her life. She didn't refuse because she thought she was doing the right thing, getting revenge for her parents. And even if she wanted to say no, she couldn't. Nerissa kills anyone who refuses her. Vera would have died had she said no. When Taranee broke the spell, Vera realized she was wrong. She has more courage in her pinky than any of you do in your entire bodies! She could be dead right now, but here she stands, a hero, and you all want to lock her away. In my opinion, you all are just low if you think that's justice!"

Her speech sparked a flame of anger from the Council. Soon, everyone was yelling and arguing at the top of their lungs. The Oracle tried to calm things down, but no one could hear him over all of the fighting. Vera grew flustered; she was done listening to people argue over her like she wasn't even there.

"STOP!" she screamed. The whole room grew silent at the sound, turning to look in her direction. She turned to the Guardians and began to speak. "This is crazy. I really appreciate you all standing up for me, but the Council's right. I did do all of those things. I may have helped you escape back there, but that does nothing except clear my conscience. It doesn't make up for all of the bad things I did, all the people I hurt, and all the lives I destroyed. I'm glad you all forgive me for what I did. Forgiveness from you was all I wanted." Turning to the Council, she continued. "I want to apologize for everything I did. I know I was wrong and that I could've said no because of moral reasons, but I didn't. I don't want pity and sympathy that I don't deserve. Please make your decision based on the facts, not because you feel sad for me or you think I'm just a disturbed child. I know I did bad stuff, and I'm ready to accept whatever you feel I deserve."

For a moment, no one moved. The Council just stared at her, eyes wide. They seemed to genuinely be taking in every word she said. Some of their gazes hardened, but most softened slightly at her show of bravery. The Guardian's all looked like they wanted to protest. Irma stood there with her mouth hanging open, shocked. Hay Lin looked like she wanted to cry. The Oracle was the only one Vera couldn't find any sign of emotion in. He looked focused, though, as if he was thinking. Then suddenly, he turned to address everyone in the room.

"This meeting is suspended for a moment," he said with surprising authority. "I will ask the Council's position on the matter, and then there is still one more person I wish to discuss this with." He turned and talked to the Council behind him. Vera and the Guardians were forgotten, at least for the moment. The Guardian's took the opportunity to come over and badger her with questions.

"What was that about?" Cornelia asked.

"Why would you sell yourself out like that?" Irma asked. Vera sighed.

"Because," she said, "I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I'm not the one who deserves pity here; you guys are. I hurt you in so many ways, and I don't want them to hold back just because you say so. I want to feel like I deserve what I got. End of story." The Guardian's stopped questioning her; it was clear they couldn't change her mind. Will turned her head to look as the Oracle drifted down a long hallway towards another part of the building. Vera swallowed hard, now nervous again. She knew where he was headed and why.

He was going to talk to the one person who's opinion mattered most, the one who'd been hurt the worst by everything she'd done.

**Wow. I wrote this in about one hour, and I'm really glad with how it turned out. I was going for a more sentimental sound in the beginning with Vera and Hay Lin, but I feel like I made it sound too….. what's the word….. romantic? Sorta? Please tell me what you think!**


	15. Chapter 15

Of Fiends and Fire Chapter 15

Taranee was drifting in and out of bits of sleep. It was hard for her to get more than a few minutes of sleep at a time. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt the same pain she'd been suffering for the last week. She could hear the cold, malicious laughter that was muffled by the sounds of her screams and breaking bones. At the very end of these flashbacks, Taranee would wake up crying, much she was now. She just wanted these nightmares to end, so she could go back to having a normal life, or what qualified as normal for her and her friends.

Taranee had just brushed away tears when the door to her chamber opened. She looked up with curious eyes; the Oracle walked in with a solemn expression on his face. When he saw her confused look, he smiled and sat himself down beside her.

"How are you feeling, Guardian?" he asked somewhat cheerfully. Taranee smiled.

"Better," she replied. "Still a little sore, but better." It was true; though all of her injuries had been seen to and doctored up, they still hurt whenever she moved a little bit in the wrong direction. Thankfully, they were almost done healing. The swelling of her eye had gone down and practically disappeared, and the cut on her stomach had faded to nothing but a pale line on her dark skin. Her broken leg and twisted knee would take even longer to heal, but even they were being cooperative.

"I am glad to hear that," the Oracle said. "Soon you will be able to return home." Home; the word sounded like heaven to Taranee. She felt a sharp longing at the thought of her parents and Peter, who never even knew she'd been gone.

"Yeah," she murmured happily. "I can't wait." The Oracle was silent for a few minutes, causing Taranee to look up at him, puzzled. "Is something wrong, Oracle?" she asked hesitantly, not sure she wanted to find out.

"The Council met today to discuss what will happen to Vera," he told her softly. Taranee grew nervous; she'd known this topic would arise sooner or later, but she didn't know how to respond.

"What did they decide?" she asked anxiously. The Oracle shook his head.

"Nothing yet," he said. "That is why I am here. The Council has had the chance to voice their opinions, and now I want to hear yours." Taranee just stared at him, unsure of what to say. She hadn't been able to talk to the other girls all morning, and now she could see why; the Council wanted her to say that she hated Vera, and they didn't want her to know what had happened after she'd… died in the cave.

"I… I don't really have one," she told him in all honesty. "It would probably help if I remembered much more than I do, but all I have left are bad memories. I can't think of anything she did except for the bad stuff. But you know what's funny?" Taranee shook her head, surprised that he was still listening despite how stupid she sounded. "I never really hated her for it. Sure I felt a little hurt, but none of this," she said, pointing down to her magically casted leg, "was her fault. Nothing that happened to me was her fault. She was only doing what she thought was right, even if it was based on a false memory." Taranee turned to look at the Oracle, her eyes smiling. "I don't want to see her get punished for what someone else made her do. I forgive her for everything. Besides, isn't feeling guilty for something that she did through the will of someone else punishment enough? She's only human." The Oracle laughed softly, shaking his head.

"The Water Guardian said the same thing," he told her. He placed his hand gently on her shoulders. "You were always the one to see the virtue and goodness in others. I trust your judgment over my own advisors." With that he stood up, his smile never fading. "I shall let you rest now." He walked over to the door. Just as he was about to close it, Taranee called him back.

"Wait!" The Oracle paused, holding the door half open. "After the meeting, can you tell Vera that I want to talk to her? Just the two of us?" The Oracle smiled and nodded. He pulled the door closed, leaving Taranee with nothing but her nightmares for company.

Back in the Council's hall, Vera was growing restless. The Oracle had been gone for an awful long time, and Vera was nervous about what Taranee said. She had been left with only bad memories of the shape shifter, since the girls had not been allowed to tell her what happened in the cave. Vera looked at the ground, falling victim to the feeling of defeat. All round her, the other Guardians were either pacing in frustration or sitting beside Vera, murmuring words of comfort. Irma hadn't stopped pacing since the Oracle had left, and her temper only seemed to grow shorter and shorter.

"What's taking hippie head so long?" she snapped, crossing her arms across her chest. Hay Lin was about to reply when the Oracle walked through the doors that he'd left through. He took his place where he had already started and motioned for Vera and the Guardians to come forward. Vera stood nervously, her hand clenched tightly around Hay Lin's. She walked forward, her head held high and chest puffed out, like a hero who knows he's about to die. The Oracle's face showed no emotions, making him very hard for her to read.

"I have talked things over with the Fire Guardian, and her opinion only supports my decision," he said. He looked down at Vera and smiled. "Dear child, you shall receive no punishment for your actions."

Vera couldn't believe what she was hearing! He was actually letting her off! Hay Lin and the other Guardians were apparently thrilled by the news. They all threw themselves at Vera, hugging her and cheering for her. For a moment, Vera actually felt like one of them, and cheered along with them. Then suddenly, after a few minutes of watching them celebrate, the Oracle motioned for them to stop.

"However," he said, "I do have one little catch." Vera felt her heart sink. Looking up at him with confusion and disappointment in her eyes, she waited for him to explain. "You are to accompany the Guardians for the duration of one year, so they may ensure what they have told me. After that, you will be allowed to decide what path you take from there."

"Oh," Vera said. She looked around at the girls staring at her with hopeful eyes and shrugged. "I guess that's not so bad. But where am I going to live?"

"I've already made the arrangements," the Oracle told her. He turned to Irma and beckoned her forward. Confused, the brunette did as she was told. "You will be living with Irma's family." Irma's eyes widened in surprise.

"Not that I'm not thrilled by the idea of having a real sister," she said, "But I don't think my parents will be cool with me coming home and saying, 'Hey mom, dad, this is Vera! She's living with us now, kay?' That usually doesn't go over well in a conversation."

"I've already dealt with that. Once this meeting is over, my advisors and I will conduct a spell that will convince your family that they have a third child. Vera will be welcomed the same way you always are."

"Unfortunately for you, that usually means you'll get grounded for being out too late," Hay Lin whispered to Vera. She giggled and Vera couldn't help but laugh along.

"I'll just have to suffer through that," Vera said. "But either way, I'll have a family again."

"So it's decided," The Oracle said cheerfully. "This meeting is adjourned. Vera, the Fire Guardian would like to see you in her Chamber." Vera nodded and walked down the long hallway the Oracle had just exited. She passed several doors before stopping at one in particular. She pushed it open and immediately saw Taranee. The injured girl was making fire do circles in the air with her index finger. When she heard the door open, she looked up from her entertainment and smiled at Vera.

"Hi," she said gently. Vera blushed and looked at the ground.

"Um… hi," was her quiet reply.

"So how'd the meeting go?" Taranee asked.

"Actually, pretty well," Vera told her, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "I don't know what you said to him, but he's letting me off. The Oracle decided that my only punishment was to have you watch over me on Earth for a year. He's making special arrangements so I can live with Irma." Taranee giggled.

"How can he be so cruel?" she joked with mock despair. Vera laughed, then paused, looking down at the ground. Taranee leaned forward as best as she could and put her hand on Vera's shoulder.

"Is something wrong?" she asked calmly. Vera shook her head slowly.

"It's just, how can you all be so nice to me?" she asked Taranee in return. "All I did was help out in the end, and you act like all the bad stuff I did never happened. How come?" Taranee sighed.

"Because we know you didn't mean to do what you did," she said. "You were just doing what you thought was right because someone told you it was right. We teens are impressionable like that. I'm not gonna hold any of that stuff against you. In fact, you're totally forgiven." Vera smiled again; she wanted to give Taranee a huge hug, but she was afraid of hurting the poor girl even more.

"Thanks, Taranee," Vera said.

"Anytime," was the other girl's reply. "I'm gonna call Will and the others in now. Is that cool?"

"Sure, but can I ask you something first?"

"Anything."

"What's so bad about living with Irma?" Taranee laughed out loud.

"You haven't known her as long as we have," she explained. "Trust me; life at the Lair house is never uneventful."

For the rest of the afternoon, the Guardian's plus one spent their time keeping Taranee company. The girls were all too excited about having a new member of their circle. Most of the conversation was about things they planned to do to give Vera "the true taste of Heatherfield" as Hay Lin called it. Vera could barely keep up with what they were planning. Cornelia insisted on having Vera all to herself for one day. She would take the girl shopping to get her clothes more suited for Earth.

"Plus your outfit right now is considered a fashion disaster," Cornelia had said. Then Irma had joked about how "Corny's" hair was a natural disaster, and the bickering began. Vera hoped they were always like that; it was way too entertaining.

The rest of the girls wanted to introduce her to their other friends and show her around Heatherfield. They would take her to all the coolest places; there was the amusement park downtown, the under 21 dance club, and Wills dad had planned to take her and all her friends camping in Yellowstone before school started; he wouldn't mind one more.

As she sat there listening to them plan out the summer, Vera began to feel more and more at home with the girls. They were already like her family. When she told them how she was feeling, it brought around another topic: meeting Irma's family.

"Well, first of all you're going to have to look more like a Lair," Irma said, examining Vera from every angle.

"And….. what exactly does a Lair look like?" Vera asked, watching Irma circle her.

"We all look the same," she said, "Even my stepmom. Brown hair, big eyes, sort of on the short side. You may have to lose an inch or two off the top. If you're gonna pass for my twin, you've got to look as much like me as you can."

"What about my eyes?" Vera asked. "I can change my body to look however I want, but my eyes always stay green."

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure someone in my mother's long line of history had green eyes, or I wouldn't have mine look turquoise." Vera nodded, then stepped back from the group. The air grew thick and everyone felt the familiar hum. Soon, Vera was almost an exact copy of Irma. Her hair was slightly darker, though, almost a chocolate brown. She was just a bit slimmer, too, and her eyes shone a tell tale green they would always be. Vera spun in a circle to show off her handiwork.

"Oh god, now Irma has a twin," Cornelia quipped.

"Please don't let Irma rub off on you, Vera," Hay Lin said. "One Irma is more than enough for the world to be satisfied." Irma crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue.

"You're all just jealous," she snapped, wrapping one arm around Vera's shoulder and pulling her close. "Don't worry, little sis. I'll teach you everything there is to know about being a girl in the Lair household."

"Hold on!" Vera said. "Who said I was the little sister here? As far as you know, I'm older than you."

"Yeah, but now we share the same birthday," Irma said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And I already called dibs, so there!"

"Jeez, it's only been three hours and they're already acting like sisters," Taranee said through fits of giggles.

"At this rate, Vera won't survive before the year is up!" Will said, laughing along. Soon, all the girls were laughing so hard their sides split. Then suddenly the door opened and the Oracle entered. He smiled when he saw Vera in her new body.

"It's perfect," he told her. "And just in time, too. The spell is complete, so you five may return home. Taranee will be sent back when she has healed." The girls nodded, and Will pulled the glowing pink Heart out from under her shirt. After everyone had said their goodbye's to Taranee, Will opened a fold and the Guardians headed home, with Vera along for the ride.

Back at the cave, things were not as quiet as the girls thought. The entrance had been reduced to nothing but a pile of rubble and boulders. Some of the larger stones moved, rocking back and forth until they fell to the ground with a thud. A small, pale hand popped out of the hole, followed by the rest of Miranda's body. The spider girl had been crying; her eyes were puffy and red. She had a long, narrow gash on her forehead, as well as several tiny scratches and scrapes. She barely managed to push herself through the narrow opening when she fell to the ground, exhausted. She lay there panting, thinking about everything that had happened last night as the sun beat down on her unprotected face.

After Nerissa had zapped Vera, the keeper practically exploded with lightning, causing the entire cave to collapse. The last thing Miranda had seen before the cave went dark was the faint glow of a portal as the Guardians escaped. Miranda choked out a sob. It had been shortly after that when she'd found her mistress' body, lying mangled under a mountain of rocks and debris. Nerissa was dead. So were Frost and Raythor. Miranda was on her own.

Miranda lay still for a few minutes as she contemplated what to do next. When her mind finally settled on an option, her dark eyes burned with hatred. This was all Vera's fault. If the stupid bitch had done what she was told, Nerissa would be alive and Candracar would be theirs. She decided she would hunt Vera down to the ends of every world.

She would kill that bitch, or she would die trying.

On Earth, Irma was leading the way down the long street that led to her house. Vera was nervous; what if the Oracle's spell hadn't worked? What if they kick her out? Then what would she do? But Irma reassured her that nothing would happen.

"If there's one thing you can trust old hippie head to do, it's keep his word," she told the nervous girl while reaching for the door handle. However, someone on the other side beat her to the punch. The door swung wide open, and Irma's father stood on the other side. He was exactly like Irma said he would be: big eyed, sort of portly, with brown hair like Irma's that was thinning at the top. It was his angry expression, however, that held Vera's attention as this very second.

"Irma and Vera Lair! Do you realize what time it is!" he demanded, his voice resounding like thunder. _Vera Lair, _the shape shifter thought, _it has a nice ring to it._ Irma was stammering for an excuse.

"Sorry dad," she said, "We got so caught up in talking with the girls, that we lost track of time. We were gonna call, but my phone died. You know, it's probably time you get Vera one of her own. That way, when we're together, we'll always have a spare." Vera had to fight back a mouthful of laughter; even though they were under fire, Irma was haggling to get Vera some new things. It was an admirable attempt, but to no prevail.

"Maybe when you two learn to be responsible," was Mr. Lair's reply. "No TV. or computer for either of you for a week. And you'll have to watch Christopher this Friday." Both Irma and Vera groaned; there went their plans for the week. "Now inside, both of you. It's almost time for dinner." They both nodded and crossed the threshold. Vera looked around at her new home, glad that she finally had a family again

**Yay! Vera got off the hook! Though I wonder how long she'll survive with the Lair's. And Miranda's coming back for another round. This could get ugly!**

**I'd like to announce that Vera has become my original character in fanfictions. She will be appearing in my other W.i.t.c.h. stories, and those stories will all be part of the year she's stuck on Earth. After that, well… you'll have to wait and see! Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Of Fiends and Fire Chapter 16

"I was only gone for two days?"Taranee couldn't hide the disbelief in her voice.

The Fire Guardian had only just been allowed back from her recovery session in Candracar, and she was finally allowed to see her friends again. What had only been a brief few days for the other girls on Earth had felt like an agonizingly long two weeks to her. She'd had to go through what felt like physical therapy sessions, but the doctors were much nicer. Once the Oracle had approved of her clean bill of health, he'd sent her back to Heatherfield. Her shoulder and leg were still a little sore, which meant no dancing for a while, but she was otherwise back to her old self again. Nigel had been so happy to see her back. Taranee had forgotten that he hadn't seen her since the incident on the beach. She still wondered how much time he'd spent awake at night wondering if she'd been okay.

"Yup," was Irma's reply, bringing Taranee crashing back into the present time. They were all walking through the park by their school, helping catch Taranee up on missed events. "Believe it or not, you really didn't miss much. Well, unless you count Vera's first attempt at working a vending machine."

"Hey!" Vera gave Irma a playful nudge in her side. "It wouldn't give me my food, and you told me to shake it when that happens."

"Yeah, shake it, not beat the crap out of it and put it in a mechanical coma!" Hay Lin quipped, smiling wide. "We almost got kicked out of the mall!" Vera twirled her chocolate brown hair innocently and sat down on a park bench.

"Well excuse me for not being born to a world with strange technology," she snapped playfully as the rest of the group sat down on the benches beside her. Taranee couldn't help but laugh; in all honesty, Vera seemed to be fitting in very well. Irma had told her how the green-eyed girl was fitting in perfectly with the chaos of the Lair family. She had Irma's routine down like she'd been living it for years. No one would have guessed she wasn't related to the girl. She and Irma were so much alike it was scary, almost like they were clones of each other. Taranee shivered; thinking of another Irma was almost too much to bear. Thankfully, Vera had several interests that made it easier to tell the two apart.

For one thing, while Irma was most definitely interested in flirting and hunting down cute guys, Vera wanted nothing to do with the opposite sex. While many had tried to catch her attention over the last few days, even in the last hour they'd been walking, she'd barely noticed. It was almost like she didn't know how to act or react to them. Taranee almost envied her for her ignorance.

For another thing, when Irma wasn't chasing guys, she was rocking out to music in her room. Vera seemed more interested in sports than anything else. She'd already signed up for a summer soccer team, softball team, basketball team, and was on the verge for trying out for Will's swim team as well. She found Irma's taste in music "obnoxiously loud and annoying", while Irma found her new sister's desire to move was "a disgrace to the name of a Lair teenager".

_Oh well,_ Taranee thought. _At least they're getting along. _She leaned back and folded her arms behind her head, feeling a soothing tug as the sore muscles in her shoulder stretched out. _God it's good to be back._ Suddenly, a weird thought popped into her head. She remembered what the girls had told her about the Closing and the eclipse being the same thing, and felt the sudden need to see what the first event was like.

"Hey guys?" she said. All five girls turned from their conversations to look at her curiously. "Remember when we made plans to watch the eclipse this Friday?" After all the girls nodded, she continued. "Well I was thinking, what if we all watched from Candracar? I mean, we've all seen at least one of these in our lifetimes, but I think it would be cool to watch from there, you know? To see what happens with the Aurameres and stuff." Will's eyes lit up; apparently, the redhead had been thinking the same exact thing, but was too afraid to say it out loud.

"That sounds like a great idea, Taranee!" she said excitedly. Irma scoffed unhappily.

"Yeah, great for those of you who got out on bail," she said. When Will looked at her quizzically, Vera rolled her eyes and explained.

"We got stuck watching Chris Friday night," she said, her tone and expression matching Irma's. "So if we're watching from anywhere it'll be Irma's room."

"Gee, that sucks," Hay Lin said. Cornelia nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," she said. "Too bad you've got to miss it." Will put her hand on Irma's shoulder to restrain the outburst she knew was coming.

"Well if you're not going we're not going," the red head said. "I'm sure we'll be able to see it another time." Hay Lin moved closer to emphasize her friend's words.

"Yeah," she said, "We can make it almost like a party. After Chris goes to bed, we can do whatever we want." Irma smiled, glad her friends were willing to stay with her.

Taranee glanced down at her watch, then up at the sky for some reason.

"How come it never feels as late as it is in the summer?" she asked to no one in particular. When she looked down, all of her friends were giving her strange glares, so she explained. "I've got to be home by four. My family's going out to dinner for Peter's birthday tonight, since he won't be here then. Which reminds me…" She stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "Someone please explain to me why I got him a cactus for his present." The other girls broke down laughing, despite their efforts to stop.

"I guess we never told the Astral Drop what to get him as a gift," Cornelia said. Taranee rolled her eyes and walked away, holding back a slight laugh. She walked down the cement path, alone and lost in her thoughts. Even though it was hot as hell out, she shivered as if an imaginary wind had blown out of nowhere. She'd been getting these chills ever since she'd woken up in her chamber in Candracar. It was weird. When she'd asked the Oracle or one of her healers about the cold flashes, they told her it was her body getting readjusted to her powers again. But if that was the case, then why was she taking so long to readjust? It had only taken her minutes the first time. Was she just overreacting, or was there something else wrong?

Taranee was shocked out of her thoughts by the snap of a nearby twig. She turned on impulse towards the trees on her right, where she'd first seen Vera shift. There was someone in those trees, but from here Taranee couldn't make out who, only that they were young and watching her. She took a few hesitant steps closer and found herself off the path. Stupidly, she kept walking until she could clearly see the person's features. Then she stumbled back, shocked by her discovery.

Up close, she could identify the dark hair, dark eyes, and mischievous smile. Miranda was back.

Taranee couldn't believe her eyes. What was she doing here? How did she even get here? Question after question fought to escape her mind, but she couldn't voice a single one of them. She just stared, open mouthed and unable to move. Miranda smirked and held up her hand, almost as if she was waving hi. Taranee closed her eyes and rubbed them behind her glasses, not wanting to accept what she was seeing. When she opened her eyes again, the girl was gone, nothing left of her except for Taranee's memory. The Fire Guardian blinked to be sure that the image was truly gone, then walked back to the path. Now she was seeing things. She couldn't tell if Miranda had actually been there in front of her, or if she was just hallucinating about things from her attack. There was some medical term for being unable to forget your experiences. Post Traumatic Stress, or something of the kind. If she had that, then it would explain the nightmares about Nerissa and lightning she kept having even though she knew the old witch was gone for good this time. Taranee shook her head, trying to erase the image from her memory. It was nothing, and she would try to forget it.

"Taranee!" someone called from down the path. Taranee turned to look and saw Hay Lin walking towards her. The tiny girl came to a stop beside her and looked up with concern in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "I was leaving to go back to the restaurant when I saw you stop and stare into the forest. You kinda zoned out, and you looked really scared. What happened?" Taranee looked back towards the trees, debating whether to tell her friend what had happened. Eventually, though, she decided against it.

"Nothing," she said, shivering again. "I just thought I saw something. I'm fine." She turned back to the tiny girl and smiled warmly, trying to hide her fearsome fear. "Do you mind if I walk with you? My house is on the way to the Silver Dragon from here." Hay Lin seemed unconvinced but smiled back anyway.

"Sure," she said. "Let's go." And with that, both girls took off down the path, Taranee fighting the urge to glance back over her shoulder.

Back in the forest, Miranda watched as the two Guardian's walked away side by side. She smiled; the Fire Guardian thought she was merely hallucinating, so there was no chance of her telling the others. No one would ever know she was there.

She'd been listening the entire time while the Guardians had talked about their plans for the eclipse. Their idea to all gather together at the Water Guardian's home was a tad bit of a setback. She had been hoping to get just Vera alone that night. She even thought she could handle things with the Water Guardian there as well. But now there would be six of them, way too many for the spider girl to handle on her own. Her plans would need to be reconfigured.

Miranda turned as she heard new voices coming down the path. The remaining four were heading out, turning off the path towards another part of town. She scowled when she saw the pair of bright green eyes standing out from the crowd.

There wasn't much she could do here, either. All she could do was watch and wait and hope for an opportunity to arise in her favor. And when that chance came, Vera would pay. She would be sorry she ever crossed Nerissa.

**Yay for short chapters! This one really just sets the scene for the next one, and brings Taranee back into the greatness that is my story. So not much excitement here. Guess you'll just have to wait for the next chapter! In the meantime, why don't you all hit the review button and tell me what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

Of Fiends and Fire Chapter 17

"Peter! Stop it! You are so immature" Taranee said in the back seat of her parents' car, fighting bouts of laughter. Her brother was seated beside her, smiling wide as her poked and prodded her in ticklish places. Being half his size, there wasn't much she could do to stop him. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, she was laughing so hard. In the front seat, her parents weren't doing much to prevent it, either. In fact, they seemed to be enjoying it almost as much as he was.

Tonight had been a good night for the Cook family. They'd all enjoyed Peter's birthday dinner at the Silver Dragon. Afterwards they'd dropped Taranee and Peter off at the store to get snacks and a movie for later that night. The brother and sister had planned to spend the rest of the evening by themselves, something that rarely ever happened now.

But that evening wasn't going to happen if Taranee couldn't survive the car ride home.

"Peter please stop!" she cried, having barely enough breath to voice the sentence. Peter sighed and relented, allowing his sister to sit herself back up in the seat. She glared at him as she tried to catch her breath. Peter shrugged and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Fine," he said. "I'll stop, but just because we're home." Taranee gave him a playful punch on the shoulder and stepped out of the car. She glanced over at the front porch and caught a glimpse of a hunched over shadow seated on the steps. Her heart stopped; was she seeing things again? Who was this stranger that sat in front of her house? The shadow turned its head when it heard the car door slam and stood. As it walked over to the driveway, Taranee noticed that the figure was taller and had a more masculine build than any of her Miranda mirages. Suddenly the figure stepped out into the light from the floodlights over the driveway, and Taranee's heart fluttered with recognition.

"Nigel," she cried, smiling widely. She raced to his side and threw her arms around his neck, happy to see his face again. She hadn't seen him since that day on the beach. The most she'd done was talk to him over the phone this morning as soon as she'd gotten back. He hugged her back tightly. Neither one remembered there were others on the scene until Taranee's mother cleared her throat loudly.

"What are you doing here, Nigel?' Mrs. Cook asked, suspicion dancing lightly on her voice. She'd never really liked Nigel, and even though he'd grown on her, she still was uncomfortable seeing him in such close proximity to her daughter. The two teens released each other, Nigel looking straight into Mrs. Cook's eyes.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said calmly. "I just wanted a few minutes to talk to Taranee. Alone," he added, when he saw Peter lean comfortably against the side of the house. Mrs. Cook looked like she was about to protest when her husband grabbed her gently by the shoulders and steered her towards the front door.

"That's fine, Nigel," he said quickly, before his wife could respond. "Just come inside when you're done sweetheart." With that he and his wife entered the house. Peter followed suit, glancing over his shoulder just once.

"Don't take too long, little sis!" he teased as he stood in the open doorway. "Remember, you've got a date with me tonight." He quickly shut the door behind him to avoid any insults she would've thrown his way. Taranee rolled her eyes and turned to Nigel, smiling. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her out of the range of the floodlights, probably to avoid being seen by her parents. Once in the shadows, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. Before Taranee could say anything, Nigel leaned in and kissed her. The action took her by surprise, but she let it happen anyways. Her heart fluttered and she felt her cheeks grow warm. Her stomach flipped with butterflies that felt all warm and fuzzy. When he finally released her, she looked up into his eyes that were sparkling like stars in the dim moonlight. Her head felt light and her chest even lighter. She rested her head on his broad shoulder and sighed.

"I missed you," she whispered in his ear. "So, so much." Nigel laughed softly, shaking his head.

"I missed you more," he whispered back, both teasing and sincere at the same time. It was then her turn to laugh, and soon they were laughing together. Then his eyes turned serious as he looked down into hers. "I'm so glad that you're okay. If I'd lost you, I….. I don't know what I would've done."

"I'm sorry for scaring you," she said. He looked at her in surprise.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't control what happened any more than I could." Taranee sank down into the soft grass, Nigel seating himself beside her with one arm draped over her shoulder. His other hand was wrapped tightly around hers.

"Why did you come here tonight?" she asked him. "Couldn't you have waited for daylight hours? Not that I'm not happy you're here, or anything, but it just doesn't make sense to me." Nigel sighed and looked her straight in the eyes.

"I had to see you again," he said, his voice shaking. "The last few days were hard for me. I had to sit around all day, wondering what was going on. Your friends wouldn't tell me where you were when I asked. Whenever I saw that… that copy of you walking past me, smiling at me like you do, my heart hurt a little more. I died a little bit inside because I knew that wasn't really you. I couldn't sleep at night; I spent every minute hoping, praying that you were okay, that you would come back. And even when I did sleep, I had nightmares. I dreamt that you were gone forever, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it." Taranee felt close to tears; she'd had no idea he'd been feeling like this. She didn't know losing her hurt him so much. Nigel cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up. Their faces were so close that their noses brushed each other. "You mean the world to me, Taranee. If something happened to you, I would never be the same. I couldn't forgive myself." Taranee put one hand over the one he had on her face and smiled.

"Well, you don't have to worry anymore," she told him. "I'm not going anywhere ever again." This time she kissed him, passionately and excitedly. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he leaned in even further. Time and space melted around them. All Taranee could see was him, and only him. She closed her eyes and let the magic of the moment wash over her.

Eventually, Nigel pulled away, much to Taranee's disappointment. She opened her eyes and smiled warmly up at him. He returned her smile before breaking the connection.

"I think I've kept you from your brother long enough," he said. Taranee sighed in reluctance and stood, Nigel's hand still clenched firmly in hers.

"Can I see you tomorrow, then?" she asked, unable to hide the begging in her voice. Nigel smiled and hugged her tight.

"Of course," he said. Nigel released her from the embrace and gave her one final kiss on the cheek. "Love you," he whispered in her ear. Taranee smiled and blushed, her heart beating at practically a thousand beats per minute.

"Love you too," she said back. Nigel smiled and walked away. Taranee watched him go until he turned a corner and was out of her sight. Sighing contently, she made her own way inside. She kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the living room couch beside her brother, resting her head on his shoulder. A full bowl of popcorn sat on the coffee table, untouched, along with two opened boxes of candy. Peter, noticing his sister's mystified look, smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm assuming it was a good conversation then?" he asked in a teasing tone of voice. Taranee smiled up at him, her brown eyes shining bright.

"Yeah," she said, her voice light and carefree. "It was pretty good."

….

Friday night came sooner than Vera had expected. The past two days had been extremely short and highly uneventful. She'd spent most of her time outside, practicing for her upcoming sports tryouts. Earlier Friday morning, she'd convinced Irma and Hay Lin to help her practice soccer, but that ended up being both the first and last time. Vera, after living on the streets for most of her life, was apparently more agile and athletic than both girls combined. She'd easily maneuvered the black and white ball around them both, even when they were on their best guard. After ending up flat on their backs several times in a row, it was Hay Lin who'd finally called it quits. She was extremely frustrated from being beaten repeatedly, so all three girls retired for the day and settled in Irma's room to wait for the rest of the group.

Now it was nearing ten p.m., and all six girls were out in Irma's backyard. Lawn chairs and deck benches had been organized on the patio to create the perfect viewing area for the eclipse. A small picnic table had been unfolded, bowls of chips and cans of soda scattered across the top. Vera was actually starting to enjoy herself. Christopher was upstairs sleeping, which meant no pestering from him. She had nothing to worry about, nowhere to go, and no one to answer to at the moment. All she wanted to do was relax and hang with her new friends. It was almost too good to be true.

"Come on Taranee, tell us what happened!" Vera was brought crashing back into reality by Hay Lin's high pitched begging. She returned her focus to the group; they were all badgering Taranee about something that had happened yesterday with her boyfriend, Nigel. The dark-skinned girl was fighting back a grin, her eyes shining as she blushed. Vera smirked and leaned forward, eager to hear how this conversation went. Of course, she didn't have anything to add in to the conversation. Vera wasn't exactly up to speed on how 'dating' worked. So she just watched as the rest of the girls went at it.

"There's nothing to tell," Taranee said, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

"Do you think we're that stupid?" Cornelia asked, flipping a lock of her blonde hair over her shoulder. Irma scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Well, most of us aren't, Corny," the brunette said. The blonde's face turned bright red with fury, but Will held her back as Irma finished talking. "But seriously, Taranee, you can't hide things from us. We can tell when something happened to you. You're just that bad of a liar." Taranee blushed even harder, staring at the dark concrete under her bare feet.

"Nothing really happened, guys!" Taranee insisted. "He took me out to a movie, and after that we went back to his place for dinner. He cooked for me; granted, it was just spaghetti, but still, it was nice. Then, we hung out in his room until my parents came to get me." Irma eyes flashed with intrigue as she gave a cheeky smile.

"And what were you two doing up in his room?" she asked obnoxiously. "Nothing that wasn't rated PG or under, I hope." Taranee glared at Irma and stuck out her tongue, but said nothing. The rest of the girls laughed, while Irma kept talking. "No objections, no defense, which means I am inclined to assume the worst, T."

"We kissed, okay?" Taranee snapped light-heartedly. "God, you people are like vultures for this stuff!" Her attempts at teasing did nothing but make her friends laugh harder.

"I knew you were holding back!" Hay Lin squealed.

"It just goes to show you what a little bit of sarcasm can accomplish," Irma said, leaning back in her chair with a big smile on her face. Vera shook her head and smiled. She glanced up at the night sky, her eyes shining like the stars. The full moon glowed with an unnatural brightness, almost as if it too was anticipating the eclipse.

"How much longer until this eclipse happens?" Vera asked, somewhat impatiently. Will pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and glanced at the bright flashing clock on the screen.

"It should start any minute now," she said.

"Well I guess that any minute is now," Cornelia said pointing up at the sky. The whole group turned to look, and they all gasped in awe.

A thin sliver of dark red was starting to creep onto the surface of the moon. The moonlight dwindled away slowly; painstakingly slow as it seemed to Vera. She felt somewhat disappointed at the sight. This is what she'd waited up for all night? She could have been resting up for her tryouts tomorrow. The rest of the girls were staring up at the sky with smiles on their faces. Feeling embarrassed that she wasn't enjoying herself, Vera forced a fake look of amazement onto her face to hide her impatience. Suddenly, the night sky turned the same color as the shadows covering the moon. The previously cool and crisp night air grew heavy and damp in a matter of seconds. Vera couldn't understand why she suddenly got an ominous feeling, but she brushed it away; things were starting to get exciting. She turned to Taranee, whose expression had gone from one of wonder to one of confusion and shock.

"You didn't tell me the sky changed colors," she said excitedly. Taranee turned to look at her, her big brown eyes showing nervousness.

"That's because it's not supposed to!" Taranee said in a shaky tone of voice. Vera's smile vanished, and she glanced back up at the sky.

"Then what went wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know," was Taranee's reply. Then, with a sudden grunt of discomfort, the dark-skinned girl grabbed her head and swayed on the spot. Vera reached out for the other girl's arm and held her steady. A few inches away, Cornelia was holding up a sickly looking Hay Lin.

"Uhhnnn… my head feels funny…" Hay Lin mumbled, massaging her temples as if that could evaporate the feeling. Vera swallowed hard; something was definitely wrong.

"Um, do Earth people usually get this way during eclipses?" she asked to no one in particular. Will shook her head, her red hair flying out in many different directions.

"I don't think this is just a coincidence, Vera." Will pulled the Heart out from under her shirt. The pink orb was pulsating, light flashing brighter and brighter each time. "I think something has gone wrong in Candracar. We need to get over there and find out what's going on."

"But we can't just up and leave!" Irma snapped. "What about Chris? If I leave him alone, my parents will kill me!"

"I'll watch him," Vera suggested. "Just make sure you all get back before mom and dad do." Irma's eyes lit up.

"Vera, I would hug you right now if we weren't in such an enormous rush!" she said, turning to Will. "Well, what are you waiting for, Red? An engraved invite? Let's get a move on!" Will scowled at Irma's impatience before drawing a line in the air with the pendant. A fold opened in a burst of pink and violet light. In a few minutes the W.I.T.C.H. girls were gone, Irma and Cornelia supporting the two dizzy girls. Soon Vera was left all alone on the patio. She sighed and, with one last nervous glance at the sky, walked back into the house.

Inside felt even emptier that outside. All of the lights were out, save for one lamp in the living room. Vera walked over to the couch and flopped down. She picked up the remote to the "tee-vee" and resigned herself to flipping through channels. She stopped for a few moments in between each one to examine the show she'd landed on. The first was a cooking show where a man with strangely fair, spiky hair whose name was Guy was demonstrating yet another of his Earth dishes. Vera deemed this one boring and moved on. The next was a weird commercial, where some strange lady was trying to sell a toy sword that magically produced bubbles when you waved it. Again, boring. The third channel was a reality show where a large group of people had to survive a month in the wild in the hopes of winning a large sum of money. This show intrigued Vera; she set the remote down and watched as some of the adults wrestled in the mud for large planks of wood. Vera laughed at their attempts; Earth had some weird entertainment. I mean, who would want to risk starvation, dehydration, and injury all for cash? Then memories of her time on the streets came floating back. After all she'd risked to survive back then, she really had no room to judge.

Vera lay there for a half hour, watching the competition with keen interest. Only when it was nearing the end when the host man with black hair said, "The tribe has spoken…" did she realize her friends still weren't back. A quick glance out the front window told her that whatever the problem was, it clearly hadn't been solved. Vera let out a nervous sigh and got up. She needed food, something comforting to calm her frayed nerves. Vera walked to the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door. She was in the middle of choosing between some strawberries or Irma's leftover chocolate cake (which she intended on taking despite Irma's note saying, "Do Not Touch!") when she heard the back door slide shut. _Oh thank the Oracle, they're back, _Vera thought to herself, smiling with relief. She shut the fridge door, making sure that it made noise on purpose. She wanted her friends to know she hadn't disappeared. Vera walked around the corner, simply overjoyed.

"It's about time you guys got back!" she snapped playfully. "What was….." Vera's question died in her mouth when she walked into the living room. She froze, every bone in her body locking itself in place. Her mouth hung open as wide as her green eyes as she stared at the person who stood there, nonchalantly leaning against the wall and examining her fingernails.

"Hey, changeling," Miranda said dauntingly. "Miss me?"

**DUN DUN DUN! Dramatic ending! Lol anyways, here's a very late chapter 17 for all of my loyal fans! This took longer than I had originally intended it to, but I had a lot of stuff going on in the past month, what with vacation and getting ready for school and stuff. **

**So the first part was kind of a request of sorts. I had several fans message me about Nigel seeing Taranee again in the next few chapters. I am a huge supporter of this pairing anyways, so I thought, "Why not? I could play around with it for a while." So here's to all you fans of the Taranee/Nigel pairing!**

**And the part where Vera was flipping through channels on TV. was kind of inspired by my own boredom. And I swear they were all real shows. And I actually had one of those bubble swords when I was like, ten… You all are probably tired of hearing me talk, so I'm gonna leave now. Reviews are welcome and wanted!**


	18. Chapter 18

Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 18

Vera couldn't believe what she was seeing. Standing in front of her was the one person who she'd thought she'd never be harassed by again. Will had told her Miranda was trapped in that cave in. She shouldn't be alive right now, let alone standing in the middle of her living room. Vera could feel herself shaking with shock and frayed nerves. How was this possible? Was Miranda really here, or was Vera seeing a dead girl walking?

"How…" she stuttered. "How did you…..?

"Nice to see you, too, changeling," Miranda smirked. She uncrossed her arms and strolled casually into the living room, the one lamp making her eyes flicker with an unnatural gleam. Vera backed up a few hesitant steps, putting the large red couch between her and her nemesis. For her, that five foot gap was still too close for comfort. "I almost didn't recognize you with that new look. You've really changed. Thankfully your eyes never could lie." Vera felt something click into place in her brain. She wasn't about to let Vera lead her on. If it was a war of wits she wanted, it was a war of wits she would get.

"I wish I could say the same for you, Miranda," she hissed, her voice laced with poison. "But you're still the same small, pathetic insect you used to be." That seemed to strike a small chord in the dark haired girl. Her eyes glinted with a hidden malice, but her resolve didn't waver.

"Cute. Sounds just like the good old times we used to have, huh?" Miranda smirked, leaning against the small lamp stand on the other side of the couch. She leaned into the light so Vera could see the scrapes and bruises she'd received in the cave-in.

"Yup. I've been just so heart broken here without you to nag at me." The humor was thick in her voice. Apparently Miranda thought so as well.

"Your sarcasm is duly noted," she said, straightening herself back up. "But you really shouldn't be so quick to make jokes around me right now. I'm not in a particularly good mood."

"Gee, that's too bad. And here I thought you were enjoying our little word game."

"Believe it or not, changeling, I'm not here to exchange insults for old time's sake." Miranda crept slowly around the edge of the sofa, getting herself closer to her opponent. Vera walked back in the opposite direction, eager to keep Miranda in her far range.

"I never thought you were," Vera responded, her voice heavier with anger and nerves. For a moment the two girls squared off, neither one willing to give the other an open window for an attack, Vera could feel the air grow thick around them with hostility and anticipation. She could sense that Miranda was here to see that she never saw the next day, and all she was waiting for was a chance of weakness. Suddenly, Miranda broke the silence with a soft chuckle, shaking her head as if disappointed.

"You almost seem brave right now," she laughed, "But is it really your valor that's making you stand your ground? Or is it a deep seed of fear freezing you in place, making you unable to run away like you really want to?" She was right. Vera could feel her hands trembling by her sides from the mere sound of Miranda's voice. Every cell in her body was screaming at her to run as fast as she could away from this house, but her heart and brain were telling her otherwise. _Think of Chris,_ she thought suddenly. _What will happen to him if you run?_ That was enough to make her fear snap into anger. She clenched her hands onto fists and fixed her green eyes on Miranda with her best death stare.

"Just shut up and tell me what the hell you want!" Vera snarled. Miranda looked slightly shocked at the sudden outburst, but kept her cool and merely sighed in response.

"I guess playtime's over, then," she said, her voice sounding so innocent it almost made Vera feel bad for hating her.

Almost.

"Why are you here?" Vera asked again, her voice firm and screaming with authority.

"Don't act like you don't know," Miranda hissed, all traces of her earlier playful taunts gone. "You may have been able to fool those dimwitted Guardians, but I still see the real you. Vera the thief, Vera the street rat, Vera the traitor!" The last word hit Vera like a brick.

"I'm no traitor!" she growled menacingly.

"Oh really?" Miranda snapped. "Where were you when we were fighting off the Guardians? Where were you when the cave collapsed with us inside of it? You betrayed us, Vera! You helped them destroy Nerissa after all she did to help you!"

"I wouldn't exactly call tampering with my memories helping," Vera retorted. "She was using me. None of that stuff ever actually happened to me. It was Nerissa who killed my parents! I wasn't about to continue helping their murderer!"

"Reasons aside, it's still a betrayal. And did you really think that the Guardians had actually forgiven you for what you've done?" Her question crash landed in Vera's brain and exploded a cell of curiosity.

"What do you mean?" she asked, thoroughly confused. Her lapse of concentration gave Miranda a few seconds to get a few steps closer.

"I mean, did you really expect them to let you off so easily? You kidnapped their friend and didn't stop her from being put through torture! How exactly do you think they feel about you right now?"

"They know I was under a spell the whole time! I couldn't control my actions, and they think I wasn't in my right mind. In their eyes, I'm innocent!"

"What a load of crap!" Miranda was practically shouting now. Vera was amazed Chris hadn't woken up by now. "You of all people should know that most people lie. You lied. I lied. The Guardians are lying to your face right now and you don't even realize! You may think they're your friends, but haven't you ever caught them looking at you from the corner of their eyes? Watching you like they think you'll snap at any second?"

Vera was frozen in shock. Part of her wanted to scream, "No!" and tear the spider girl to shreds. But the other half couldn't help but think she was right. The Guardians seemed friendly enough, but Vera had noticed them glancing over their shoulders at her whenever they were out in public. She'd thought it was because they'd been watching out for her so she wouldn't make a fool of herself, but now she wasn't so sure. Her lack of response must've told Miranda that her words were really affecting Vera. She crept up close to her now, so close that Vera's face was practically touching the pseudo human's. Her dark eyes glinted with a hint of anger, but she was more focused on crushing her opponent's spirits for now.

"You have noticed, haven't you?" she said, her voice tinged with an alluring charm that had Vera hanging onto every word. "You've seen them watching you, guarding you, anticipating what you could do. It's almost as if they don't trust you." Vera turned her head away sharply, unable to look into those eyes any longer.

"You're wrong," she said, but her voice faltered with uncertainty.

"Am I?" Miranda asked. "Think about them, one at a time. You know they're suspicious. What about Irma? She must be distrusting of you living so near to her family. Think of what a threat you could pose to their safety." Vera's chest felt tight with emotions, making her breathing quick and labored. She had noticed the suspicious glint in the Water Guardian's eyes whenever Vera was sitting near Chris or her stepmom. She'd sensed a feeling of almost jealousy from her so called sister. But after the way Irma had defended her back on Candracar, it was hard to believe any of this could be true. "Or what about Cornelia?" Miranda continued. "She's disliked you from the beginning. What's to say she doesn't feel the same way now? What has she ever done to show her forgiveness to you? And then there's Will. Brave, loyal, kind, and a proud leader. Everything you wish you were. After the crippling blow you've made to her team, she really must think you're nothing but a danger to everyone around you. She's got to make sure you don't lose control and destroy innocent lives, now doesn't she?"

Vera's whole body was trembling now. She hadn't expected Miranda's words to have such an effect on her. Those words were eating her alive, and what made them hurt the most was the possibility that they could be true. Just thinking about the chance made Vera's heart feel heavy like lead.

"Stop, please," she muttered just loud enough for Miranda to hear, but not enough to make her listen. The spider girl took Vera's chin in her hand and forced her to look up with a gentle but firm grip. Soft green met icy black as Vera was forced to look into her worst nightmare's eyes.

"And what about little Hay Lin?" Miranda smirked, ignoring Vera's plead. "After you little encounter in the forest, you must not exactly be in her good book right now. She's probably looking after herself now to make sure you won't reopen old wounds. Evan after you blocked the lightning, how can she be so sure you're not dangerous?" Vera felt hot tears forming in her eyes, and she let them fall.

"Please, stop, I'm begging you," she said, louder and more firmly this time. But still Miranda pressed on, apparently enjoying the sight.

"And then there's Taranee. What reason does she have not to distrust you? You pretended to be her friend in the beginning, only to break her trust and bring her to the mercy of her worst enemy. Then you watched as she was mercilessly beaten and tortured, and you did absolutely nothing. Your last words to her before she "died" were, "It's about time you got what you deserved". But she didn't really deserve it, did she? She was nothing more than an innocent victim of circumstance, and you were okay with her being killed. She doesn't just distrust you, she hates you. You tore her friendship apart, you ruined her life, you killed her! If that's not a reason for suspicion, then I don't know what is. How can you believe she really wants to befriend her killer?"

Taranee was the breaking point. Vera couldn't tolerate any more of Miranda's words poisoning her mind. Whether they were truth or lies she didn't know. But she did know that no one was allowed to turn her against the ones who'd given her a new start in life. She didn't care anymore if they liked her or despised her, hated her or loved her. All she knew was that she would make up for lost grievances by defending them and all they lived for. Her tear filled eyes suddenly began to glow with hatred and retribution. She fixed her gaze squarely on Miranda's eyes.

"I said STOP!" she screamed, pushing Miranda away from her as hard as possible. Miranda stumbled, lost her balance, and fell back onto the sofa. Her dark eyes were wide, but they showed nothing but satisfaction.

"You know I'm right, Vera," she growled, pushing herself back to her feet. "Stop kidding yourself." Vera stood still, her body shaking with pure hatred and hostility.

"I don't know if you're right or wrong," she snarled, "But I do know that your pathetic words won't stop me from helping them! I won't turn against them or hurt them ever again!" Miranda frowned, her hands balling into fists.

"Fine! Protect them if you want! You just signed your own death warrant!" Miranda hunched over and began to change form. Soon there was a black, hairy spider in front of her, it's dark eyes hungry for murder. "I'll soon make sure my mistress' death was compensated for!"

Vera snarled as the air began to hum with a familiar magic melody. She followed the pseudo human's example and transformed herself, feathers sprouting to cover her entire body. In just moments, a proud falcon hovered where a girl had stood moments before. Vera screeched out a battle cry and swooped down at her opponent, talons extended. Miranda reached out with a gnarled hand and tried to grab the bird, but Vera was too fast. With astounding speed and agility, she dove and grazed her claws across the spider girl's face. Miranda cried out in frustration and pain, flailing her arms around wildly, missing the changeling by a few mere inches. Vera flew up and dove again, repeating her actions down to the letter. Again and again she charged, making an effective contact each time she did. Miranda was growing flustered, unable to grab Vera as she continued her assault. Vera felt satisfied as she once again rose in the air. A few more dives and Miranda would be too tired to continue. She turned in midair and dove again, only this time she fumbled a little on the turn causing her to lose her balance. She panicked and fought to turn out of the dive but it was too late.

Miranda's hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her leg. She spun the bird above her head and launched her across the room. Vera felt all of the air rush out of her lungs as her tiny bird body hit the tall corner lamp. She fell to the floor with a thud, the lamp crashing down only inches from her head and shattering into hundreds of pieces. Her eyes fluttered for a minute as her body struggled to regain oxygen. She grew in size as she involuntarily changed back into her green haired, perfectly human self. Vera moaned and turned her head to one side as she felt a throbbing pain in her arm. A particularly large shard of glass had lodged itself in between the stripe tattoos on her shoulder. Her stomach churned when she was her blood start to drip down her skin. Reaching over with her other hand, Vera pulled the shard out with a cry of pain. But she didn't get any time to recuperate. Miranda suddenly reappeared, looming over her like a dark shadow. She reached down and wrapped her hand around Vera's new injury. Vera cried out in pain as cold fingers constricted her puncture wound, making it scream in agony. She was hoisted roughly into the air, her bare feet less than three inches from the carpet. Miranda held her there for a few seconds, staring deep into the pain filled green pools with a look of pure malice. Then she spun around and hurled the limp girl across the living room. Vera winced in pain as her spine made contact with the back of the couch and she rolled over the top, falling into a heap on the soft cushions below her. She groaned and pushed herself onto her hands and knees, coughing onto the back of her hand. When she pulled it up close to her face, three small droplets of crimson appeared on her tan skin. She moaned and forced herself to stand up. The longer she stood still, the more of a target she would be.

As quickly as she could manage, Vera sprinted across the living room to the open glass door. She put her hands on the edges and stopped herself once she was inside the door frame. That's when she realized she wasn't being followed. Suddenly, Vera heard a soft moan come from behind her. Her eyes shot open wide and her heart skipped a beat. _ No, _she thought. _No, no! Please, no!_ She spun around on the spot, her body now running on the rush coming from her worst fear.

A human Miranda was poised at the bottom of the stairs, her small, slender arms curled around a still sleeping Chris. The spider girl's eyes were gleaming with satisfaction and amusement. Vera stopped dead; she body was rigid with fear and worry for her so called brother. All she could think about was his safety.

"Put. Him. Down." She snarled through gritted teeth. Miranda laughed, cradling Chris even closer to her chest.

"Not so invincible when someone else's' life is on the line, are you?" she asked teasingly. Vera balled her free hand into a fist, not quite sure how to handle this situation.

"Please, Miranda, just leave him be," she asked. "This family has nothing to do with our issues."

"They took you in. That's a perfect reason for them to be involved." Vera sighed nervously; there was nothing she could do. Her hands were tied.

"I…. I'll do whatever you want," she murmured halfheartedly. "Just please don't hurt him." Miranda smiled, clearly knowing she'd won. She pointed towards the still open door.

"Walk outside," she ordered strongly. Vera hesitated, not sure whether to fight the command or obey. But when Miranda ran her fingers through Chris' light brown curls, she hissed and walked backwards onto the patio, never taking her eyes off her enemy. Miranda followed behind her, still carrying Chris in her arms. She pointed towards a lawn chair the girls had hastily abandoned earlier and simply said, "Sit". Vera was forced to comply, her green eyes burning with hostility. Miranda quickly shifted to spider form and secured Vera to the chair with several bursts of her sticky webbing, making her hands were stuck awkwardly behind her back and unusable.

"Alright Miranda, now you have me," Vera growled, pulling slightly at her bonds. "Now put Chris on the couch where I can see him from here." Miranda chuckled to herself as she turned back into a human.

"You really want to play the hero, huh?" she asked. "Suit yourself. But remember how all heroes end up." She walked away laughing, back through the door and into the living room. Vera watched her with uncanny precision as she laid Chris on the sofa. He never woke up through all the moving he'd done. Vera had to strain herself to see his gentle breathing from such a distance. She began to pull frantically at her bonds as Miranda walked back outside, hands poised gently on her hips.

"It's about time you realized your tricks couldn't win all of your battles changeling," Miranda snapped. Vera growled under her breath, pulling frantically at the immobile webbing.

"So now you've got me," she snarled, sounding much braver than she actually felt right now. "What comes next?"

"I really hadn't planned on this," Miranda said, sounding slightly bewildered and excited. "I guess I'll just have to wing it." She giggled viciously and pulled a short dagger out from under her dress. Vera felt her heart pick up its pace at the sight of the gleaming blade. She was entirely defenseless.

"Cold blooded murder?" Vera asked, struggling from the effort of keeping her voice calm. "That really doesn't seem like your style."

"Oh I'm not going to kill you, yet," Miranda smirked, pressing the cold edge of the knife to Vera's cheek. "After putting up with you for over two months now, I deserve to have a little bit of fun, don't you think?" She moved the blade lower, following an invisible line down her neck to her already injured shoulder. Vera winced as the point grazed over her wound, praying Miranda wouldn't shove the tip inside. But the pseudo human didn't stop there. She continued down Vera's arm and onto her torso, stopping at the spot just under the edge of her black shirt where her stomach was open and exposed. "Let's see. I think I'll leave the Guardians a little message for after I'm gone." Miranda chuckled maniacally and pressed the blade harder onto the exposed skin. Vera hissed in pain and bit her lip as the spider girl carved a thin, shallow line angling towards her belly button. It was shallow enough not to cause terminal damage, but deep enough to send white hot jolts of pain throughout Vera's entire body. There was nothing she could do to stop the torture. She squinted her eyes shut tight and tried not to shout as Miranda drew four more lines in the tan skin of her stomach. Eventually, the spider girl stopped, and Vera released all of her built up cries in a rough and shaky sigh. She leaned forward and peered down at her stomach. A jagged, bloody "M" was etched in her flesh, trails of crimson straying away from the horrid lines. Vera snapped her head up, snarling in frustration. Miranda smiled and put on her best innocent child expression.

"What's the matter, Vera?" she asked with false sweetness. "Don't you like my little game?" Vera growled under her breath and spat on the earth at Miranda's feet.

"Is that all you got?" she teased, her voice straining through her exhaustion. "Honestly, Miranda, I thought you could at least do a better job of putting on a show. This is just pathetic." Miranda looked slightly annoyed, pressing the red-stained blade to Vera's cheek.

"Go ahead and tease me, changeling," she snarled. "Just know that it could be the last thing you ever say."

"You can't scare me, bug," Vera hissed back, barely audible to anyone who wasn't less than two feet away from her mouth. "You're nothing but an insecure little girl who gets her kicks off of hurting other people. But is it really all that exciting if the victim doesn't scream?"

"That sounds like a challenge, changeling."

"Does it now?"

"Yup. Let's see how long you'll last before you beg for the end."

"I won't beg!"

"We'll see." With that, Miranda drew the knife along Vera's cheek, just under her eye. Vera winced but held her resolve. She barely flinched as the pseudo human repeated her actions first on the other cheek, then down her good arm. The pain was slowly starting to get more tolerable with each cut. She simply closed her eyes and bit her lip as Miranda mercilessly slid the blade across her skin over and over. Vera felt herself go numb inside, as if nothing was left except for the pain and resistance.

She had no idea how long she sat there under that endless torment. Then she realized the feeling had stopped. She no longer felt the cool metal being dragged across her arms. Vera opened her eyes to see the tip of the blade barely an inch away from her nose. She gasped and drew her head back, but the knife didn't follow. Miranda was frozen in a sheet of ice, unable to move or finish what she had started. Behind her was a pair of familiar blue eyes framed by light brown hair. Vera breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's about time you got back," she said sarcastically as the rest of the girls came into her line of sight. Will and Cornelia shoved the frozen spider girl through the open portal and closed it tight. Vera smiled at them; they'd come just in the nick of time. She felt gentle hands pull the sticky webbing off that held her to the chair. Without the substance to hold her up, she fell to the ground, sore and completely out of energy. Taranee reached out and held the limp girl in her arms, blood dripping across her own skin in thin, jagged lines.

"Vera, what happened to you?" Taranee asked. Vera struggled to sit up as she began to explain.

"Miranda showed up out of nowhere," she told her friends. "She was angry with me because I left them all to die back in Meridian. She was trying to kill me." Vera winced suddenly as her many injuries began to throb all at once. "I…I fought with her. And then she went after Chris. That's how she got me like this. I couldn't do anything or she would've hurt him. I was helpless." She placed her hand over the jagged "M" on her stomach and gasped. Irma jumped up quickly from where she was sitting and ran towards the house.

"Cornelia, come help me get towels and the medical kit!" she ordered, and to Vera's surprise, the blonde obeyed without a witty comeback. Vera tried to call after them and tell them not to worry about her, but Taranee, Hay Lin, and Will stopped her.

"You need to stay still," Will said, gently pushing Vera down into a laying position with her head on Hay Lin's lap.

"It's not-ow-that bad," Vera tried to insist, but her continued gasps of pain exposed her lie.

"Just relax, Vera," Hay Lin said, her voice soft and sweet. "You'll feel better in a few minutes."Vera sighed and closed her eyes as Cornelia came running back into the yard, her slender arms filled with towels, water bottles, and a medical kit.

"Irma told me to bring these out here and to apply pressure on the worst cuts with a wet towel," she said. "She has to put Chris back upstairs and then she'll be right back out."

"Here," Taranee said. "Hand me a bottle and that towel. Her stomach looks the worst off." Cornelia complied and handed over the materials. Taranee poured the water over the blue bath towel and pressed it softly but firmly on Vera's stomach. The sting of cold water on the tender skin made Vera wince and struggle to get it off. Will grabbed each of the squirming girl's hands and whispered reassuring words to calm her down.

"Calm down!" she said. "We're just trying to stop the bleeding."

"It….hurts!" Vera hissed through clenched teeth. Hay Lin stroked a few strands of green hair out of Vera's face before placing her hands on Vera's shoulders.

"I know it hurts," she said gently. "But it's the only way it's going to heal. Soon it'll feel so much better. You just have to relax and let us help you." Something in the tiny girl's voice made Vera compelled to listen to her. She stopped squirming let Will and Hay Lin console her while Taranee and Cornelia did their best to clean her wounds. Soon, the cool water began to numb her skin, making all of the previous pain ebb away slowly. Vera sighed as her muscles began to relax themselves once again. Then Cornelia got to the cuts on her cheek. She reached out with the towel to wash away the blood which was not starting to dry, but Vera turned her head away sharply. The blonde looked slightly surprised at her reaction, and reached out again only to have the same result. Frustrated, she put her hands on her knees and glowered.

"I'm just trying to help," she said, her voice both stern and compassionate at the same time. Hay Lin reached out and took the wet cloth from Cornelia's hand.

"Let me do it, then," she said, pressing the towel to Vera's cheek. The injured girl let her come close, but her eyes stared far off into the distance, not really seeing any of her rescuers. She didn't want to look into any of their eyes, for the fear that what Miranda said would be proven true. Taranee noticed Vera's absent look and was immediately filled with concern.

"Vera, what's wrong?" Vera opened her mouth slightly, unsure of how to answer that question. Thankfully, she was saved from having to reply by a loud, thunderous complaint headed their way.

"If that stupid spider ever sets another foot anywhere near my house, I'll show her the meaning of retribution!" Irma scowled as she hastily crossed the patio. "First she tears Vera apart, and then she leaves Christopher lying on the couch! Not to mention the corner lamp in my living room is broken! God only knows how I'll explain that one to mom and dad!"

"Tell them I tripped and fell," Vera said jokingly, trying to lighten the air. "It's close enough to the truth." Irma laughed before seating herself next to Taranee on the patio.

"I think you've taken enough punishment for one night," she quipped back. Irma opened the white and red medical kit and pulled out a tube of antiseptic and a long roll of gauze bandages. "Now let's focus on patching you up." She took the bottle of antiseptic and squeezed a glob onto a cotton ball. "This is going to prevent your cuts from being infected. Mind you, it'll sting for the first few minutes." Vera nodded and bit her lip.

"It can't be worse than what I've already been through," she said as Irma applied the cream to her stomach. The stinging sensation was much worse than the cold water had been, but the sensation lasted half as long. Soon, all of her cuts had been treated and felt numb and painless.

"Now we've got to bandage up the big wound on your stomach so that it can heal right," Irma told her. "Corny, take the other end and help me wrap it around her. It has to be tight enough to stop the bleeding, but not so much that it cuts off her circulation. Then she needs to stay lying down for at least an hour with plenty of water."

"And just how do you know all of this stuff, Dr. Lair?" Cornelia joked as they gently lifted Vera's body up and wrapped the gauze around the jagged cut.

"When your dad's a policeman, you learn all kinds of useful stuff." Irma finished the makeshift bandage by securing the end with medical tape and laid Vera back down the way she was. The green eyed girl sighed and let herself simply slump to the ground, nothing but Hay Lin's legs holding her head off the ground. Irma took a spare water bottle and washed away the antiseptic and spots of dried blood. The rest of the girls did the same. Once everyone was finished, Irma folded her hands across her chest and sat straight up to admire her handiwork.

"There, good as new," she said cheerfully. "Fortunately, none of the cuts were too serious. The only one that'll leave a scar is this one." She pointed to the cleanly bandaged area on Vera's stomach.

"But how do we hide the little cuts from your parents when they get home?" Will asked.

"Yeah, it's not like we can cover her in, like, thirty Band-Aids and expect them not to ask questions," Cornelia cut in.

"Don't worry about that," Vera told her. "When I get injured, the wounds only stay on the form I was in at the time. So they'll only be noticeable when I'm like this. They'd have to have been critical or near fatal to go from one body to another." Vera took a sip of water from an untouched bottle as the information sunk in.

"Well, then, there's nothing to worry about," Irma said smiling. "Everything is A-okay!" Vera dropped her gaze from her optimistic friend. Her downcast expression was once again noticed. Will placed a gentle hand over hers and looked down at her with concerned eyes.

"What's wrong?" the redhead asked gently.

"Yeah, "Taranee added, "You can tell us." Vera sighed before composing her reply.

"I….I don't think it's safe for me to live here anymore," she said. The girls all stared down at her in shock.

"Why?" Hay Lin asked, looking both confused and crushed at the same time.

"Because of stuff like this! Everywhere I go, it seems that somebody I love gets mixed into the crossfire. I attract way too much trouble. I don't want to cause any more of these emergencies."

"That's why you want to leave?" Cornelia scoffed. "Stuff like this has practically become routine for us."

"We never seem to go anywhere anymore without some new monster or baddie hunting us down along the way," Taranee said. "That's nothing we can't handle."

"It's not just that," Vera said. "Miranda said some stuff earlier tonight, and-"

"Okay stop!" Irma said, cutting off her sentence. "Listen to what you just said: 'Miranda said'. Now tell me what's wrong with that picture."

"Irma's right, Vera," Will said. "You can't trust anything Miranda tells you. She practically runs on lies."

"I know, but this time she's telling the truth."

"Why?" Taranee asked. "What did she say?"

"She told me I was a danger to myself and everyone around me, and she's right. I don't know anything about living here on Earth. What if one day I snap and hurt someone over some tiny little thing?" Vera sighed before continuing. "I don't blame you guys for not trusting me." At this statement, the Guardians looked genuinely confused.

"What do you mean?" Cornelia asked in disbelief. "Of course we trust you!"

"You don't have to pretend any more, Cornelia. I've seen the way you all watch me whenever I'm near your families or out in public. You're always glancing back at me, like I'm a bomb just waiting to explode."

"Vera…." Hay Lin said, placing one of her tiny hands on Vera's cheek. "We're not watching you. "We're watching out for you."

"We just wanted to make sure you were adjusting to things okay," Will said. "Coming to live on Earth was a really big transition for you."

"We were making sure you learned how to cope in our world because it's so different from yours," Cornelia said.

"Besides," Taranee stated, "You saved my life back there in that cave."

"And mine," Hay Lin said. "We'd all trust you with anything." Vera smiled, and looked up at her friends with proud, shining eyes.

"I'll do anything I can to honor that trust," she said, and the rest of the group smiled with her. Vera looked to her left and noticed for the first time the dark bloodstains on the grey patio around the abandoned lawn chair three feet away. "I guess we should clean my blood off the patio before your dad gets home," she told Irma. The brunette smiled and wrapped Vera's hand in hers in a living gesture.

"You mean our dad," she said, and Vera felt her eyes well up with cheerful tears. She pulled Irma down to the ground and threw her arms around her in a tight hug, ignoring the protests of her many injuries. The rest of the girls joined in as well, and soon they were all tangled in an awkward, horizontal hug. After a few minutes of crazy laughter and squeals of excitement from trying to get free, the six of them were laying side by side on the stones in a fan shape. Vera had each of her hands around Hay Lin's and Taranee's, their fingers deeply intertwined. They laid there for a while, gazing up at the endless expanse of summer stars surrounding the now back to normal moon.

"We're never going to get a break, are we?" Irma asked dryly with a hint of sarcasm. Hay Lin put on her best face of false confusion and looked at the brunette.

"What is this thing you call a 'break'?" she asked teasingly. Her quirky comeback got a loud roar of laughter from the girls around her. Vera smiled after the laughter died down and stared up at the peaceful night sky. Her heart was flying with happiness and contentment. She'd been searching so long for a way to escape her pain and distress, and now she was surrounded by genuine friends who genuinely cared about her. She'd never felt so at home in her entire life. Vera closed her emerald green eyes and sighed to herself.

She'd finally found the one place where she belonged.

She'd found her family.

**And here is the late but still amazing last chapter of my first W.i.t.c.h. fanfiction! Sorry this took so long. My computer has crashed twice now and I kept having to rewrite this over and ver. I must say though, I like this version much better than the one I'd originally had. Thanks so much to all of you who've been patient enough to keep reading this and reviewing. I hope you'll stick around for the rest of my Vera saga and any other stories I might play around with. You all are amazing people and I hope you'll keep following!**

**~Fireflare14~**


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